During the third quarter, we were again able to capture the benefits of AEGON’s strategic priorities, resulting in solid earnings growth, improved profitability of sales, lower expenses and a continued strong capital position. Our franchise remains healthy, as evidenced by the particularly high level of At-Retirement and pension sales. At the same time, we are making essential investments to reshape our businesses in both our established and developing markets to respond effectively to the changing conditions and new realities. Although there are signs of gradually improving market conditions, there remains considerable uncertainty in the general economic environment. Consequently, we believe it is prudent and necessary to maintain a sufficient financial buffer while at the same time adhering to our strict risk and pricing discipline. The steps we are taking across our organization to get closer to our end customers, combined with the strength of our current position, give us full confidence in the prospects for our business going forward.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/58637-aegon-quarter-3-results
In his fifth annual letter, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, highlights how setting clear goals and accurate measurement are key to improving the lives of poor people around the globe.
The letter describes remarkable progress from schools in the United States to health care in Ethiopia and makes the case that continued investments in these efforts have made a measurable difference for millions of the world’s poorest people. A core reason was the world’s commitment to setting clear goals and identifying the right measures to drive progress towards those goals.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/49396-bill-melinda-gates-foundation-fifth-annual-letter
CHS Inc., the nation’s leading cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods company, is committed to continued growth that will drive economic value to its farmer owners and the rural communities in which they live, its leaders told attendees at its recent annual meeting.
“Our ultimate responsibility is to invent the CHS of the future by making the decisions, executing the investments and managing the financial health of this company in a manner that not only adds value for you today, but continues to pay off 10 and 20 years down the road,” CHS President and Chief Executive Officer Carl Casale told attendees. “Ultimately, it’s about taking actions today that will benefit tomorrow’s owner, the generations that are now playing in farm yards or buying their first blue FFA jackets.”
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/58034-chs-inc-putting-future-first-for-cooperative-farmer-owners
A majority of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) want better sustainability programs but are hindered by costs and a perception that investments in these initiatives don’t matter to customers, according to a sustainability survey released today by Cox Enterprises. The Cox Conserves Sustainability Survey is the first nationwide survey to examine sustainability opportunities and challenges for SMB leaders.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7285251-cox-conserves-sustainability-survey-smb/
Samruk Kazyna, Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund managing major strategic state assets with the combined value of close to $100 bn, is overhauling its business strategy, including approaches to investments and to asset management.
New management mechanisms will soon be introduced in all of the Fund’s companies. As early as 2014, business processes reengineering will start in three pilot organizations – diversified transport holding Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, oil and gas company KazMunaiGaz and postal service operator KazPochta.
These measured will result in operating costs reduction of 20% by 2017, and Samruk Kazyna’s economic value added will generate more than $11.2 bn for Kazakhstan’s economy.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/72762559-samruk-kazyna-transformation-forum/
UNCF and the Ad Council are joining Paramount Pictures to launch a series of public service advertisements (PSAs) featuring footage from the upcoming film SELMA and original music written for the film by Common and John Legend. The :30 television spot, created pro bono by Paramount Pictures, will air on television stations in donated media around the country starting this week.
The PSAs are an extension of UNCF and Ad Council’s Better Futures campaign which aims to help African American students get to and through college by demonstrating how an investment in young people is an investment in all our futures. The campaign is a focused effort to remind Americans that their investments in education can change the life of a well-deserving student, and more importantly, the lives of generations to come.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7390751-uncf-ad-council-join-paramount-pictures-to-close-the-african-american-college-completion-gap/
A “strategy-to-execution gap” plaguing corporations around the globe could lead companies to lose 50 percent of their potential cumulative cash flow on new growth investments if not properly addressed, according to CEB (NYSE: CEB), the leading member-based advisory company. That is because most new growth strategies lose value during the implementation phase, with at least one-in-three strategic initiatives failing altogether.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7082252-ceb-executive-guidance-for-2015-closing-strategy-to-execution-gaps/
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) today announced it has committed $28.6 million in new research investment to advance the most promising blood cancer science at leading academic and medical institutions around the world, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College and MD Anderson Cancer Center. As LLS leads the charge to find cures for cancer patients, this new funding, along with ongoing investment in LLS’s aggressive research agenda, brings LLS’s total commitment to blood cancer research to more than $1 billion. The investment has led to the development of nearly every therapy currently used to treat the blood cancers.
Along with these new research grants, LLS remains committed to collaborating with biotechnology companies through its innovative Therapy Acceleration Program® (TAP), a model pioneered by LLS in the cancer arena in recognition that traditional research approaches weren’t yielding treatments and cures fast enough for patients. LLS commits approximately $13 million a year to its TAP initiatives. As part of the 24 current such collaborations, LLS recently initiated new investments with Kite Pharma and OncoPep.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7554852-lls-cancer-research-funding/
Altimetrik, a business transformation and technology solutions company is unveiling advanced IoT solutions that are set to revolutionize the manufacturing industry.
Manufacturing industry is faced with the challenge of digitally connecting its assets with systems and people, engineering and acting upon the data on the floor to achieve predictive maintenance, precision monitoring & remote management. Altimetrik's Enterprise IoT capabilities make operational intelligence real by connecting machine data to newer business insights & driving meaningful outcomes. Altimetrik has made significant investments in creating IoT specific Research & Innovation Labs which’ve helped the company become a frontrunner in IoT consulting and execution. Altimetrik has been identified among leading IoT solution providers for manufacturing by IDC
Altimetrik is among the new breed of technology companies driving its business model based on the three global mega trends of modernization – Digital, Connected Solutions and Consumer Technologies.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7772051-altimetrik-future-of-enterprise-internet/
Today, Atom Factory CEO Troy Carter announced plans to host a second season of Smashd Labs from September 6 to November 18. For the inaugural class, there were over 200 applicants in two weeks, six startups in the inaugural cohort, 30 mentors, founders as young as 19 years old, and over $2M raised from investments within six months of the lab’s concluding Demo Day.
“We’re proud of the success the participating startups have had to date, and look forward to growing the Smashd Labs family by adding an additional set of startups led by talented founders with platforms and tech that can disrupt entertainment and culture,” stated Atom Factory CEO Troy Carter, who most recently served as a guest shark on the latest season of ABC’s hit prime-time show Shark Tank.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7817451-atom-factory-smashd-labs-startups/
ConnXus, a supplier diversity technology platform, today announced that it has closed $5 million in Series “A” funding, led by Techstars Ventures, Serious Change L.P. and Impact America Fund.
“This round of funding will significantly accelerate ConnXus’ long-term impact on generating sustainable and diverse supply chains,” said Rod Robinson, CEO and founder of ConnXus. “To date we’ve raised $10 million in investments, including participation from Techstars Ventures, CincyTech, Serious Change L.P., Impact America Fund, and several private angel investors.”
ConnXus’ cloud-based, supplier diversity sustainability dashboards open the door for procurement, supplier diversity, and supply chain professionals to access a wealth of global supply chain analytics. Robinson believes Techstars and the other investors are the right investors for the company to disrupt and add imperative value to the $10-billion supply chain and procurement software market.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7834951-connxus-five-million-series-a/
