News Hub | News Direct

Professional Services

Architecture CRM/Customer Service Consulting Government & Policy Human Resources Intellectual Property/Trademark/Patent Law Legal
Article thumbnail News Release

Small And Medium Sized Businesses Are Losing Money When They Send Funds Overseas

FatBrAin

For every company, protecting and increasing cash flow is one of the main concerns. However, so many companies do not have the resources to properly evaluate where they have unnecessary losses and how to optimize systems to increase their cash flow. This is especially true of small and medium-sized enterprises, also known as SMEs. SMEs make up over 90% of businesses around the world and approximately half of employment. In the U.S., SMEs account for 44% of all U.S. economic activity and produce the bulk of GDP output. SMEs are crucial to the economy but that doesn’t mean they always have the necessary support to excel in the growing technological world. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data have the potential to revolutionize the workforce. These technologies are able to increase efficiency and diversify revenue streams, among other things. However, the companies utilizing these technologies are often large enterprises like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), IBM (NYSE: IBM), and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and government agencies. FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI) (“FatBrain”) is looking to change this status quo. FatBrain markets itself as “AI for Everyone” and caters to SMEs. The company is interested in simplifying decision-making for SMEs and giving them the power to harness big data and AI to grow and expand their businesses. FatBrain believes that SMEs often do not have the manpower or capital to derive plausible solutions for their business because there is too much data and too many variables to contend with. This is where AI comes into play. AI allows these businesses to make effective changes toward growth and efficiency without depleting their resources. For example, one product the company offers is its FX Transaction Offering. Its program, FatBrain FX Fair Value Report (FVR) reviews your foreign exchange (FX) transactions and performs possible savings calculations. According to the International Monetary Fund, banks charge up to 25x more in transaction costs than the market FX rate. This impacts the bottom line of SMEs that engage in global commerce. FatBrain is an expert in foreign exchange and international payment services; the company has worked across a diverse amount of sectors that engage in global commerce and has helped companies find the most competitive rates of exchange along with recommending hedging strategies. FatBrain uses its cutting-edge AI for in-depth analysis of a company's historical transactions to identify FX cycles. From there, FatBrain makes recommendations and provides expert coaching to anticipate currency dynamics and match the company’s purchase cycles to unlock FX transaction savings. For SMEs, this makes a world of difference. FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.; OTC: LZGI) is the first and leading provider of powerful and easy-to-use AI solutions to millions of businesses of tomorrow driving the majority of the global economy, empowering them to grow, innovate faster and savemoney. FatBrain’s innovative solutions transform continuous learning, narrative reasoning, cloud, blockchain and Web3 technologies into auditable, explainable and easy to integrate products. FatBrain’ssubscription model allows all companies to deploy its advanced AI solutions quickly and easily, securely utilizing them on premises behind their firewalls or via cloud. The AI 2.0 pioneered by our teams is like WAZE for business growth, using advanced peerdynamics technology to automatically learn patterns from individual and peer behavior. This allows us to deliver coached, personalized AI solutions at hyperscale. FatBrain unifies insights from SaaS applications, turbo-charged by peer and market dynamics: 1) Realize attainable goals from explainable peer performance. 2)Turbo-charge human expertise with superhuman AI insights. 3) Accelerate growth through the contributory network effects. 4) Simplify harnessing data across common apps and market signals. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Shawn Carey ir@fatbrain.ai Company Website https://fatbrain.ai/

December 08, 2022 08:05 AM Eastern Standard Time

Article thumbnail News Release

Minuteman Press Franchise in Bloomington, MN Celebrates 15 Years in Business

Minuteman Press International Inc

Bill and Karen Grewe have owned their Minuteman Press franchise in Bloomington, Minnesota since July of 2007. As they celebrate 15 years in business, Bill shares keys to success, lessons learned, high-demand products and services, and many more insights and reflections. Minuteman Press in Bloomington is located at 8742 Lyndale Avenue South, Bloomington, MN 55420. Congrats on 15 years in business! What does this milestone mean to you and what are 3 keys to your success and longevity? Bill Grewe: It means we’ve thrived over other competitors in the area, and we lasted longer than the average small business. Most recently, we survived the Covid-19 crisis, and we start to see a return to normalcy. Further, our retirement plans include continuing to work in our shop for the foreseeable future. We still enjoy it! Key 1: Our customer focus requires us to authorize staff to solve ‘the problem.’ We back the good faith decisions made in our absence. We prioritize discussions about how to solve issues when we are available. We emphasize that the customer is not always right, but we all make mistakes. Even so, there is no need to place blame. We look for win-win solutions. Key 2: Prioritize the quote. It is not the least expensive print company that gets the job; it is the most responsive. Sure, we accommodate ‘commodity-focused’ customers. We also price aggressively on three tiers: retail, print brokers, and non-profits. We also have two of our five employees, who generate estimates for us. Key 3: Value your team members. Our payroll is excessive, and that is intentional. We pay for talent, and that inspires loyalty. When Covid forced us to reduce hours and pay, our staff supported us. We share the successes and struggles, and we look for opportunities together. What are some of the key ways you’ve grown your business? Bill Grewe: One of the hardest lessons we learned was ‘cold calling.’ We waited too long to start following the advice received at training. (What can we say, introverts find it difficult.) A business coach encouraged us to experiment with a variety of ideas. So, we ventured outside the ‘comfort zone.’ As the business expanded, we found a salesman to perform this task for us. Early on, we remembered an important lesson from Minuteman Press International (MPI), “When someone asks you if you can ‘print this’, the answer is always ‘Yes.’” Since our small print shop simply did not have the resources to produce every job, we figured out how to find “central facilities” to fill the gaps. (Hint: We asked our MPI friends, searched the internet for trade only printers, and checked the vendor catalog.) Before FLEX offered a feature to request reviews, we employed a vendor to perform the service on our behalf. Now, we use functionality built in to automatically make this request when invoices are sent. The benefit of our finding this functionality early is that we are working to maintain a 5.0 rating, not trying to earn it. Our Google rating is one of the most often mentioned ways that new customers find us. What are the high-demand products and services that have really been helpful for your clients? Bill Grewe: EDDM offers one landscaping customer the opportunity to replace the 20% customer loss experienced year-over-year. On a routine basis several times each year, we use a central facility to produce 30,000 postcards. Our customer chooses the carrier routes they want to prospect. Then, we batch the postcards and deliver them to various post offices in the area. Wide format is a place where our central facility strategy permits us to offer signs for graduates. Our graphic designer offered to produce artwork for a school-themed graduation sign, and word quickly spread. Several other schools participated, and parents even paid in advance our third year providing this service to our community. One private school decided to pay for all the signs ahead of time and resell them. We print so many envelopes, regular and window. We moved our envelope printing off our digital toner machines onto an inkjet envelope printer, and we assigned the task to our graphic designer. This freed up our other machines for other work. We still have discriminating customers, who demand precise color. So, when our team cannot match color digitally, we work with an area pressman, who works out of his garage. How would you best describe your community? Bill Grewe: Bloomington is the 5th largest city in Minnesota with more jobs per capita than either Minneapolis or St. Paul, the two largest cities. Businesses range in size from the smallest to large, multi-national corporations. From a business perspective, the opportunities are abundant. Why do you think printing remains so vital to businesses today? Bill Grewe: Print provides tangible marketing messages that you can set aside for a convenient read. Where people skim their emails followed by the quick delete, they store and share meaningful documents. What was your background before franchising and why did you choose Minuteman Press? Bill Grewe: Neither of us comes from a print background. Karen worked in a day care center, then provided home day care. I worked for the revenue department for 20 years before looking for something new. An advertisement caught my attention, and the rest is history. What has the support from Minuteman Press International been like for you? Bill Grewe: After learning volumes of new information during training, I spent the first year figuring out what it all meant. Remember when I said we waited too long to start following all the advice we received from Minuteman Press International? I was so wrapped up in trying to understand it all, I missed the ‘do this’ advice that helped our business start growing. The FLEX software is a significant advancement over previous versions, which underscores Minuteman Press International’s commitment to improvement. Its integration with the website and increased functionality allows us to accept orders and payments online. Much of our business remains either an email or phone conversation, but the day is coming when current customers can reorder previously delivered projects with the click of a portal button. We should not miss an opportunity to thank the most important local support provided by Minuteman Press International, our field representative Kate. When Bill, our salesman, retired in July this year, Kate was on the job helping train Pete with updated advice from the franchisor, using FLEX, etc. What are the biggest personal and professional rewards of owning your business? Bill Grewe: For us, our franchise provides a sense of security. While there are income fluctuations, the business provides a steady income. Furthermore, it is part of our retirement plan. (We enjoy working with our staff.) What advice would you give to other business owners or people looking to own a business? Bill Grewe: For people looking to own a business, your first responsibility is to build your market share. Your employees depend on their paycheck. This means you must separate yourself from the day-to-day operations and focus on how to increase income. Our franchise focuses on building a relationship with customers. This starts with listening long enough to hear the vision, ask questions to clarify the intent, and suggest options that deliver the right product on schedule. It involves managing expectations and avoiding unrealistic promises. Sometimes the best thing to tell your customer is, ‘We simply cannot meet that deadline.’ Otherwise, you risk delivering a product that advertises failure. It’s better to overdeliver. For more information on Minuteman Press in Bloomington, MN, visit their website: https://minuteman.com/us/locations/mn/bloomington/ Learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities and see Minuteman Press franchise reviews at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com. Contact Details Minuteman Press International Chris Biscuiti +1 631-249-1370 cbiscuiti@mpihq.com Company Website https://minutemanpressfranchise.com

December 07, 2022 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Image
Article thumbnail News Release

'Tis the Season-ally Inspired Holiday Menus at Firebirds Wood Fired Grill

500NewsWire

Charlotte, NC ( 500NewsWire ) -- Firebirds Wood Fired Grill introduces new holiday lunch and dinner menus just in time to make any celebration a memorable one this holiday season. From hand-cut wood-fire grilled NY Strip, and certified Duroc pork chop with cognac cream sauce, to Bananas Foster Bread Pudding for dessert, Firebirds’ limited time scratch-made menus are available now through January 3. Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is known for its signature hand-cut steaks and fresh seafood hand-fileted in-house and seared over locally sourced hickory, oak, or pecan wood on Firebirds’ exposed wood-fired grill. Firebirds’ seasonal Lunch Menu includes suggested wine pairings, and features: NY Strip (10oz.) BLT butter / choice of side Suggested wine pairing: Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon Parmesan Crusted Mahi Coal-roasted tomato-basil sauce / “loaded “ember-grilled corn / fresh asparagus Suggested wine pairing: Decoy Chardonnay Lump Crab Cakes Bold remoulade / wonton slaw / seasoned steak fries Suggested wine pairing: Firebirds Private Label Chardonnay Guests can enhance their entrées by adding: Lump Crab Cake Lobster Mac & Cheese Dessert Bananas Foster Bread Pudding Vanilla bean ice cream / spiced pecans / crispy cinnamon-sugar tortilla Firebirds’ seasonal Dinner Menu includes suggested wine pairings, and features: NY Strip (14oz.) BLT butter / choice of side Suggested wine pairing: Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon Tomahawk Prime Pork Chop Wood-grilled, certified Duroc pork chop / cognac cream sauce / red wine-poached apples / green chile mac & cheese Suggested wine pairing: Acrobat Pinot Noir Parmesan Crusted Mahi Coal-roasted tomato-basil sauce / “loaded “ember-grilled corn / fresh asparagus Suggested wine pairing: Decoy Chardonnay Lump Crab Cakes Bold remoulade / wonton slaw / seasoned steak fries Suggested wine pairing: Firebirds Private Label Chardonnay Guests can enhance their entrees by adding: Lump Crab Cake Lobster Mac & Cheese Dessert Bananas Foster Bread Pudding Vanilla bean ice cream / spiced pecans / crispy cinnamon-sugar tortilla Many of the restaurant’s dishes are created using fresh seasonal ingredients. Gluten-sensitive menu items, such as Grilled Tenderloin Salad, Wood Grilled Salmon, and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes, are also available. Firebirds offers catering, online ordering for ToGo and delivery options. In addition, Firebirds is offering a holiday gift card promotion. For every $100 in gift cards purchased in-store or online, guests will receive $20 in “bonus cards.” This special offer is available now through December 31st and “bonus cards” are valid for redemption from January 1 through February 9, 2023. For more information visit firebirdsrestaurants.com/gift-cards/. Firebirds Wood Fired Grill’s FIREBAR® offers an impressive array of seasonal cocktails, craft beer, bourbon, after-dinner drinks, Firebirds’ private label wine, hand crafted mocktails and more. Popular specialties include Wine Down Mondays, and happy hour in the FIREBAR® and on the Patio every Monday through Friday from 4PM – 7PM. Happy Hour times vary. Visit FirebirdsRestaurants.com to make a reservation, order ToGo online, or register to become a member of Firebirds’ Inner Circle and be the first to hear about upcoming events, promotions, new menu items and exclusive offers. Members receive a gift for joining and a gift for their birthday. About Firebirds Wood Fired Grill Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, a polished casual American restaurant, is an energetic twist on the traditional grill featuring a boldly flavored menu in a stylish, fire-centric atmosphere. Signature menu items include hand-cut steaks and fresh seafood hand-fileted in-house and seared over locally sourced hickory, oak, or pecan wood on Firebirds’ exposed wood-fired grill. Complementing its inviting dining room, a patio with seasonal comforts and the award-winning FIREBAR® are additional gathering spaces inside the restaurant. Firebirds has been named one of ten ‘Breakout Brands’ by Nation’s Restaurant News, and the 2022 Diners’ Choice Winner awarded by OpenTable. Firebirds supports sustainability efforts and partners with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, having surpassed $3 million raised for childhood cancer research through the sale of fresh-squeezed lemonade. To become a member of Firebirds Inner Circle, order ToGo online or to make a reservation visit firebirdsrestaurants.com. Contact Details Firebirds Wood Fired Grill Lesley Gamwell +1 404-309-6915 lgamwell@rountreegroup.com Company Website https://firebirdsrestaurants.com/

December 07, 2022 08:59 AM Eastern Standard Time

Article thumbnail News Release

Identity-Bound Biometrics Could Eliminate Hidden Costs Of Current Passwordless Solutions, Says BIO-key

BIO-key International, Inc.

With the ever-growing number of websites that individuals need to log into these days, for both work and personal matters, creating and remembering countless, unique, and secure passwords have become a substantial challenge. In the workplace, specifically, this could lead to potential security risks as employees may end up ignoring security protocols altogether due to password fatigue, putting their organization’s data security at risk. In addition to the pain points arising from having to remember passwords, traditional authentication methods also result in mounting costs for organizations – with sizable IT helpdesk resources required just for password resets alone. Additionally, according to the World Economic Forum, 80% of all cybersecurity breaches occur as a result of weak or stolen passwords. With all the issues associated with password-based authentication, organizations are now seemingly ready to move away from this approach. A recent survey showed that 82% of business leaders currently say that they are ready to implement passwordless authentication options within their organizations. Current Passwordless Authentication Options May Not Be The Best Most of the passwordless authentication solutions adopted today rely on hardware tokens or mobile devices – which present their own set of issues, including security risks from the loss of the physical devices and usability challenges in restricted areas of operation such as contact centers and manufacturing floors. Additionally, authentication methods involving mobile phones could involve hidden costs for both the employer and employee. BIO-Key International Inc. (NASDAQ: BKYI), a provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions, reports that it offers authentication options that could address such risks and issues by offering an easier and more secure way to authenticate the identity of employees, customers, and suppliers. The company says that its unique approach to authentication uses Identity-Bound Biometrics (IBB) to manage access across devices and applications within the organization. IBB is part of BIO-key's unified IAM platform — PortalGuard ® IDaaS (Identity-as-a-Service) — which offers various authentication options, including biometrics, to meet the security goals of most modern organizations and deliver an optimized user experience, reports the company. BIO-key also recently introduced new authentication methods to its one-of-kind multi-factor authentication mobile app, MobileAuth TM, which now includes server-secured facial recognition, device-based biometrics for Android and iOS, and push token support. The app was initially launched with just one biometric option, PalmPositive TM, which supported secure biometric authentication through palm scanning. Benefits Of BIO-key’s Identity-Bound-Biometric Solution According to the company, Identity-Bound Biometrics provides a unique and superior level of security as it verifies the identity of the person completing an action– logging into a system, completing a transaction, accessing private information–instead of just authenticating a device, token, or credential. Traditional passwordless options involving a physical device like a mobile phone or token simply confirm that an approved device is being used. There is no way to confirm that the device is actually being used by the authorized individual. IBB offers flexibility and ease of use, where a one-time enrollment quickly sets up access across multiple devices and locations for employees in organizations implementing their solution, says the company. There is also greater deployment versatility and scalability across use cases with BIO-key’s IBB solution, which enables enterprises to provide a consistent and seamless user experience for their employees. In addition, it reduces overall costs by streamlining IT department resources and eliminating operational redundancies yielded by traditional authentication systems. The company reports that its IBB option is cloud-ready and easily integrated with systems, applications, and infrastructures. It is a safe, efficient, cost-effective, and secure option that can be applied to a range of common use cases, including shared workstations, zero-trust environments, remote access, and scenarios where mobile devices are not permitted. Through its trusted biometric authentication solution, Identity-Bound Biometrics, BIO-key believes it could enable organizations to move into a passwordless future with a solution that’s easy to use and hard to hack. IBB could help employers, employees and customers by eliminating the hidden costs associated with current options that involve mobile phones, hardware tokens or other physical devices with a more sensible authentication solution. More information about BIO-key’s Identity-Bound Biometric solutions can be found on BIO-key.com. BIO-key is revolutionizing authentication and cybersecurity with biometric-centric, multi-factor identity and access management (IAM) software managing millions of users. Its cloud-based PortalGuard IAM solution provides cost-effective, easy to deploy, convenient and secure access to devices, information, applications, and high-value transactions. BIO-key's patented software and hardware solutions, with industry-leading Identity-Bound Biometric (IBB) capabilities, enable large-scale Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) solutions, as well as customized on premises solutions. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Catalyst IR- William Jones, David Collins +1 212-924-9800 BKYI@catalyst-ir.com Company Website https://www.bio-key.com/

December 07, 2022 08:15 AM Eastern Standard Time

Article thumbnail News Release

CleverTap Unveils RenderMax

CleverTap

CleverTap, the World's #1 Retention Cloud today unveiled RenderMax – a proprietary technology that can increase mobile push notification render rates up to 90% on low-end Android devices. Push notifications have the power to increase customer retention rates anywhere from 3 - 10 times. Most marketers just focus on their push notification delivery rates, but a “delivered" notification that doesn't render on the user’s device is a wasted effort. For those who equate delivery and rendering as equal, render rate is the percentage of the number of push notifications the end user received (and were rendered) on the user’s device compared to the total number of push notifications that were sent. All Chinese OEM devices use a custom variant of the stock Android OS. To optimize battery consumption, these OS variants are configured to bypass the Google/Firebase push delivery service, resulting in low delivery rates and even lower render rates. RenderMax gives CleverTap customers a significant competitive advantage as they can now engage users they could not before and elevate the ROI from their push campaigns. This is especially true for devices that are in battery saver mode or cannot be reached due to inactivity. “RenderMax is a testament to our continued commitment towards product development and innovation. Low render rates stifle the true potential of mobile push notifications. We are confident that with RenderMax, brands will be able to harness the full power of push notifications. What’s interesting is that we are offering RenderMax to all customers at no additional cost to any brand that wants to try it out.” said Anand Jain, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, CleverTap. Betterhalf, India's first and only marriage super app was provided an early access to RenderMax and their push notification render rates more than doubled! Shankar Krishnamurthy, Group Product Manager, Betterhalf said, “At Betterhalf, mobile push notifications are critical for our business. With CleverTap’s innovative RenderMax solution our push notification render rates have skyrocketed to 85%.” RenderMax powers up the render rates of customers’ push notifications, amplifies the push notification reach, and maximizes user engagement. Enhancing the reach of push notifications can help CleverTap customers lower costs, increase engagement and conversion rates, and reduce churn. “The CleverTap platform has a great breadth of capabilities, and this innovative mobile push solution will certainly help them stay much ahead of the competition,” Shankar added. CleverTap RenderMax works with Android OEMs such as Oppo, Xiaomi, Vivo, One Plus, POCO, Realme, and Samsung. About CleverTap CleverTap is the World's #1 Retention Cloud that helps app-first brands personalize and optimize all consumer touch points to improve user engagement, retention, and lifetime value. It's the only solution built to address the needs of retention and growth teams, with audience analytics, deep-segmentation, multi-channel engagement, product recommendations, and automation in one unified product. The platform is powered by TesseractDB™ - the world’s first purpose-built database for customer engagement, offering both speed and economies of scale. CleverTap is trusted by 1500 customers, including Gojek, ShopX, Electronic Arts, TED, English Premier League, TD Bank, Carousell, AirAsia, Papa John’s, and Tesco. Backed by leading investors such as Sequoia India, Tiger Global, Accel, and CDPQ the company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with presence in San Francisco, New York, São Paulo, Bogota, London, Amsterdam, Sofia, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, and Jakarta. For more information, visit clevertap.com or follow on LinkedIn and Twitter. Forward-Looking Statements Some of the statements in this press release may represent CleverTap's belief in connection with future events and may be forward-looking statements, or statements of future expectations based on currently available information. CleverTap cautions that such statements are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties that could result in the actual outcome being absolutely different from the results anticipated by the statements mentioned in the press release. Factors such as the development of general economic conditions affecting our business, future market conditions, our ability to maintain cost advantages, uncertainty with respect to earnings, corporate actions, client concentration, reduced demand, liability or damages in our service contracts, unusual catastrophic loss events, war, political instability, changes in government policies or laws, legal restrictions impacting our business, impact of pandemic, epidemic, any natural calamity and other factors that are naturally beyond our control, changes in the capital markets and other circumstances may cause the actual events or results to be materially different, from those anticipated by such statements. CleverTap does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or updated or revised status of such statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will CleverTap and its affiliate companies be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements in this press release or any related damages. Contact Details Sony Shetty sony@clevertap.com Company Website https://clevertap.com/

December 07, 2022 05:07 AM Eastern Standard Time

Article thumbnail News Release

Travelers Institute and Cambridge Mobile Telematics Release Educational Guide to Help Curb Distracted Driving

YourUpdateTV

The Travelers Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV ), recently released “ Every Second Matters®: Reducing Distracted Driving, One Voice at a Time,” an educational guide published in partnership with Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), the world’s largest telematics company. “The guide highlights new statistics that show how risky driving behaviors, such as speeding and texting behind the wheel, accelerated during the pandemic,” said Joan Woodward, President of the Travelers Institute and Executive Vice President of Public Policy at Travelers. “Throughout the report, we provide an eye-opening account of the dangers of distraction and arm drivers with important resources for staying safe on the road.” The Every Second Matters guide outlines steps motorists can take to improve their driving habits, including: · Adopt a professional driver’s mindset: Hands on wheel, eyes on road, mind on driving. · Don’t be a distraction: According to the 2022 Travelers Risk Index, nearly 80% of drivers make or take calls while driving, so avoid becoming the distraction – don’t call or text employees, family members and friends while they are on the road. · Activate “Do Not Disturb”: Use this setting while driving to silence notifications and avoid distractions. · Speak up: Let risky drivers know of their dangerous behavior and encourage others to do the same when they are passengers in a car. · Get feedback: Consider enrolling in a telematics program that provides feedback as well as incentives for driving safely. The report also highlights the benefits of telematics programs. Data from CMT shows that drivers who open their telematics app more than three times a week are 65% safer and 57% less distracted than those who don’t. “Telematics programs are changing behaviors and reducing distractions on the road,” said Ryan McMahon, Senior Vice President of Strategy at CMT. “By joining a telematics program, drivers are learning about their habits and improving roadway safety for all. Consumers are seeing these benefits, and telematics programs are more popular than ever as a result.” Other key findings from CMT include: · More than 35% of car trips involve some type of phone distraction. · More than 35% of distracted driving happens over 50 mph. · The most distracted drivers are 2.2 times more likely to crash than the least distracted drivers. Through the Every Second Matters distracted driving education initiative, the Travelers Institute publishes materials and hosts events that encourage drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians to play an active role in changing roadway behaviors. To learn more about the Travelers Institute and read the Every Second Matters educational guide, visit travelersinstitute.org. About Cambridge Mobile Telematics Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) is the world’s largest telematics service provider. Its mission is to make the world’s roads and drivers safer. The company’s AI-driven platform, DriveWell®, gathers sensor data from millions of IoT devices — including smartphones, proprietary Tags, connected vehicles, dashcams, and third-party devices — and fuses them with contextual data to create a unified view of vehicle and driver behavior. Companies from personal and commercial auto insurance, automotive, rideshare, smart cities, wireless, financial services, and family safety industries use insights from CMT’s platform to power their risk assessment, safety, claims, and driver improvement programs. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with offices in Budapest, Chennai, Seattle and Tokyo, CMT serves millions of people through 80 programs in 18 countries, including 21 of the top 25 US auto insurers. For more information, visit cmtelematics.com. About the Travelers Institute The Travelers Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies, Inc., engages in discussion and analysis of public policy topics of importance to the insurance marketplace and to the financial services industry more broadly. The Travelers Institute draws upon the industry expertise of Travelers’ senior management as well as the technical expertise of many of Travelers’ underwriters, risk managers and other experts to provide information, analysis and solutions to public policymakers and regulators. Travelers is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto, home and business. For more information, visit Travelers.com. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

December 06, 2022 04:33 PM Eastern Standard Time

Article thumbnail News Release

Velocity Global appoints finance and technology executive Junko Swain to its board of directors

Velocity Global

Swain to lead the Audit Committee Brings over 25 years of experience in finance and accounting Velocity Global, the leading provider of global talent solutions, announced today that notable finance and technology executive Junko Swain has joined its board of directors, where she will serve as an independent board member and lead the Audit Committee. “I have admired Junko for years. Her reputation is unparalleled across Silicon Valley, and my own personal interactions with her only furthered that sentiment,” said Ben Wright, founder and CEO of Velocity Global. “You know a strong finance leader when you see one, and I’m honored that Junko will bring that financial leadership excellence to our company as a board member. Furthermore, her experience in human capital management and deep understanding of company operations at scale will be a huge lift to our team.” Before joining Velocity Global’s board of directors, Swain held senior leadership positions with several technology companies, including Upwork, Vantiv, Apple, VMWare, and eBay, and successfully led the transformation of finance operations throughout the IPO process for two of these companies. In addition, Swain is a strong advocate for flexible work models and the future of work, having successfully built a strong performance-oriented finance organization by utilizing both independent talent and full-time employees at Upwork as well as a scalable organization through hybrid workforce management models, M&A integrations, and global finance operations at eBay. Swain joins Robert Schlossman and recently-announced Francoise Brougher as independent board members, along with investor board members Cas Schneller, Kunal Aurora, and Parker Barrile. “I'm passionate about the future of work as I've seen and personally experienced significant changes in the workplace in the past several years,” said Swain. “The rise of remote and hybrid work has opened up more diversity and equity for talent globally while allowing companies to access a truly global talent pool. Velocity Global is a pioneer in enabling employers and top talent to work with each other, regardless of location. I'm thrilled to join Ben and the team on the journey to providing borderless and boundless employment at scale.” The company’s Global Work Platform™ seamlessly connects employers and talent worldwide through proprietary cloud-based talent management technology, personalized expertise, and unmatched global scale. Users access a streamlined technology interface and partner with a dedicated customer experience team for individualized solutions and support. About Velocity Global Velocity Global accelerates the future of work for anyone, anywhere, anyhow. Its Global Work Platform™ simplifies the employer and talent experience through its proprietary cloud-based talent management technology, backed by personalized expertise and unmatched global scale. The platform offers a full suite of talent solutions, including global Employer of Record and Contractor Management, to help companies onboard, manage, and pay talent in more than 185 countries. Thousands of brands rely on Velocity Global to build international teams without the cost or complexity of setting up foreign legal entities or state registrations. Velocity Global was named a "Leader" in Global Employer of Record Services by prominent analyst firm NelsonHall. Founded in 2014, the company has hundreds of employees across six continents. For more information, visit velocityglobal.com. Contact Details Velocity Global Anja Koltes +1 720-650-4348 news@velocityglobal.com Company Website https://velocityglobal.com/

December 06, 2022 09:00 AM Mountain Standard Time

Image
Article thumbnail News Release

New Legal & General Study on U.S. Gig Economy Workers: The Gig Economy Is Here to Stay

Legal & General

· 69% of survey respondents see themselves working in the Gig Economy for the foreseeable future · Fewer than 1 in 10 expressed a desire or plan to leave the Gig Economy in favor of more traditional salaried employment · 62% of gig workers don’t like having to pay for their own health insurance A newly released study sponsored by Legal & General Group, U.S. Gig Economy, Part 1: The Gig Economy Is Here to Stay finds that with pandemic work shutdowns and a spiralling inflationary environment, the very nature of work in the U.S. and people’s relationship to it is evolving toward a more independent, flexible, and financially volatile model. More than a third of American workers consider themselves members of the gig economy, a proportion expected to rise. Today, the first volume of this broad new study introduces the research, zeroing in on the breadth, historical backdrop, and growing pains of this burgeoning work mode. The first segment of the data-rich study, The Gig Economy Is Here to Stay, explores the effects of economic downturns on the specific demographic constituting the 36 percent of the U.S. population that make their living independently or on contract, unsalaried. The long-term consequences of this emerging model are still unfolding, but as of August/September 2022, most gig workers seemed satisfied working this way, with 69 percent saying they have no plans to return to the traditional workplace any time in the foreseeable future. Legal & General Group Chief Executive Sir Nigel Wilson commented: “While not limited to the U.S., the gig economy trend seems to be a particularly American phenomenon—both an outcropping of the independent spirit and also a reflection of the lack of social, health and financial guarantees available to the American population at large. By comparison, current data suggests that only 6.2 percent of the UK population counts itself as self-employed. Our research will explore what’s driving this difference and what’s lacking in the financial safety nets of U.S. gig workers.” Study co-author and Legal & General Corporate Affairs Director John Godfrey notes: “To define the gig economy is a challenge—it comprises everything from best-selling authors to Uber drivers to fishermen. But with flexibility of work hours and freedom to earn as much or more than salaried workers listed as top reasons to stay in the gig economy, there was a clear desire on the part of survey respondents to balance work and life.” Legal & General’s study looks not only at the benefits and primary reasons so many people are involved in the gig economy, but also at the drawbacks in social and financial security based on tenure and income, including lack of access to basic social needs. Some half-dozen future segments will look in depth at the massive income ranges and types of work encompassed by gig work; that gig work is a choice, and how this is expressed; the fierce independent-mindedness of gig workers; the extent to which gig workers meet their health and life insurance needs; similarly with their retirement needs; what it would take to get gig workers to go back to “the office”; and the pandemic fallout for gig workers. # # # Notes To Editors The information contained in this press release is intended solely for journalists and should not be relied upon by private investors or any other persons to make financial decisions. About the Study Legal & General undertook proprietary research into the attitudes and changes U.S. gig workers are experiencing in relation to their work situations and financial outlook. The U.S. Gig Economy research was compiled using original survey data from 1044 U.S.-based workers age 18 to 60 who are neither students nor retired, and who earn at least 60% of their income from gig work. The data was collected via online survey fielded to individuals sample sourced from YouGov’s US panel. The Legal & General-designed survey was scripted and hosted on Gryphon, YouGov’s proprietary survey scripting platform, and the field work took place between August 19 and 31, 2022. Key demographics such as age, gender and region were allowed to fall out naturally. 20 questions were designed to understand facts about earnings, drivers of and barriers to gig working, financial product ownership & financial capacity when coming across adverse situations, and future expectations of being involved in the gig economy. Verbatim comments were captured by Legal & General in research carried out in June 2022. About Legal & General Group Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK’s leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with international businesses in the U.S., Europe, Middle East and Asia. With over $1.4 trillion in total assets under management, Legal & General is the UK’s largest investment manager for corporate pension schemes and a UK market leader in pension risk transfer, life insurance, workplace pensions and retirement income. Contact Details Meir Kahtan +1 917-864-0800 mkahtan@rcn.com Company Website https://www.legalandgeneralgroup.com/

December 06, 2022 10:45 AM Eastern Standard Time

Article thumbnail News Release

Are You Confident About Your Vehicle’s Repairs?

AutoTech IQ

Many car owners dread making an appointment with auto repair shops because they feel unprepared to carry on a discussion with the service adviser about the need and cost of repairs. That lack of preparation creates unease over whether to even go to the shop for fear of being ripped off. AutoTechIQ.com was created to make car owners overcome that initial fear by being preeducated and confident about what symptoms and related fixes are typical for their specific vehicle type and compare the visible and audible symptoms their vehicle shows with images, videos and descriptions in articles. A typical example is a squealing noise while driving. How Does Preeducation Make Me Confident? By preeducating yourself before a meeting with the shop, you’ll ensure that you have the proper details to share with a service adviser. For example, if your car starts emitting oil-like odors, you can browse through AutoTechIQ and find articles that cover oil-related issues, such as “Why does my car smells like burning oil?” Then, by reading the article’s content and comparing the images and videos with your vehicle’s symptoms, you’ll rule out potential problems and their fixes. Note that AutoTechIQ’s articles feature images, videos and sound representations of typical issues that point to specific symptoms. There, you’ll also find information about certain vehicles’ years, makes and models that commonly portray these symptoms and the usual faulty parts involved. Get the knowledge you need and share it with your go-to auto shop; this will make a discussion about the service’s budget more transparent and precise. What Is the Best Approach When Engaging the Service Adviser? Often, shops focus on fixing the symptom and send you back on the road. That approach implies less money spent on an individual visit but adds up over time. Tell the service adviser about the symptom and ask for a digital vehicle health inspection, which will give you the entire vehicle’s state of health. The best approach when dealing with a service adviser during car service is to ask for a digital vehicle health inspection. This type of inspection aims to make you aware of your car’s current condition and future risks; it creates a state of health for your car. This approach focuses on saving you money in the long run by showing your vehicle’s “possible upcoming issues” and how impactful they can be for your wallet and your safety. Why Repairs Based on the State of Health Save You Money Once the state of health information is in your hands, showing in red, yellow and green and substantiated with images and videos and notes what your vehicle’s health is, you can engage the service adviser in what needs to be done now (red), can be deferred (yellow) and is in mint condition (green). Certified AutoTechIQ shops follow a process guaranteeing a comprehensive report, which lets you budget the current and upcoming repairs. If the shop is certified the digital vehicle health inspection is called a Digital Auto Checkup. More specifically, the state of health record shows, in color-based categories, what type of risk your vehicle has. The colors identify as: Red: Needs urgent assessment Yellow: Can be deferred Green: Mint condition at the time of inspection This is also substantiated with images, videos and notes to clarify the condition as much as possible. When taking your car to a certified AutoTechIQ shop, you’ll have education-focused service. The state of health they offer will be a comprehensive report where you’ll budget the current and upcoming repairs confidently. Note that for AutoTechIQ-certified shops, the term you can use for this inspection is Digital Auto Checkup. Why Is It Important to Ask for a Digital Auto Checkup? Many auto repair shops listen to your concern and immediately provide a solution. When you go to any doctor for a symptom checkup, does the doctor immediately diagnose you? Typically they don’t do that unless you are in the emergency room. Instead, they’ll check your vital signs, test your blood and conduct other testing procedures. The same goes for your vehicle during car service. First, you establish baseline health before addressing the main symptom. The vehicle’s bill of health is called Digital Auto Checkup or Digital Vehicle Health Inspection. What Do You Get From AutoTechIQ as a Car Owner? The majority of car owners dread the appointment at an auto repair shop. To counter that, the shops in AutoTechIQ ’s network put your education and professional service as top priority. Additionally, the shops you’ll find in AutoTechIQ’s business directories follow these criteria: The business has at least 100 Google reviews with an average score higher than 4.5 out of 5. A digital vehicle health inspection is consistently relied upon to examine the health of your vehicle and covers at least 35 topics. The documentation of mint and problem conditions uses images and videos to give you complete transparency. Contact Details AutoTech IQ AutoTech IQ +1 866-678-8505 support@AutoTechIQ.com Company Website https://www.autotechiq.com/

December 05, 2022 04:02 PM Eastern Standard Time

1 ... 6061626364 ... 179