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News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from U.S. and international businesses.
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Washington Post: Zeus Technology to License Its Performance Adtech to Tribune Publishing
WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The Washington Post issued the following WashPost PR Blog on Aug. 13:
Zeus Technology, the industry-leading revenue platform from The Washington Post, today announces it will license Zeus Performance to Tribune Publishing, one of the country's premier news brands with top dailies, like the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News and Baltimore Sun, in eight media markets. This agreement continues a period of tremendous growth for Zeus which will now power adtech for nearly 70 sites in the U.S.
"It's critically important that local publishers have the tools they need to own
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The Washington Post issued the following WashPost PR Blog on Aug. 13:
Zeus Technology, the industry-leading revenue platform from The Washington Post, today announces it will license Zeus Performance to Tribune Publishing, one of the country's premier news brands with top dailies, like the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News and Baltimore Sun, in eight media markets. This agreement continues a period of tremendous growth for Zeus which will now power adtech for nearly 70 sites in the U.S.
"It's critically important that local publishers have the tools they need to owntheir revenue strategy and position themselves for sustainable growth in this market while collaborating together. Zeus now powers over 3 billion impressions monthly, offering publishers the ability to drive better performance and higher revenue through a modernized advertising framework," said Jarrod Dicker, VP of Commercial Technology at The Post and GM of Zeus. "We are thrilled to collaborate with Tribune and work together to build a better ad ecosystem for all."
Tribune, which simplified and consolidated legacy architecture by migrating to The Post's Arc Publishing platform beginning in 2017, will leverage Zeus's state-of-the-art programmatic technology stack and rendering engine to optimize advertising performance and delivery for their portfolio of award-winning publishers while ensuring a superior user experience.
Zeus Performance is one of three industry-leading monetization tools built in-house by The Post that comprise the Zeus Technology Suite. At its foundation, Zeus is built on speed, user experience and advertising effectiveness. Interested partners can send a note to zeus@washpost.com. For more information, visit: https://www.zeustechnology.com/.
[Category: Media]
S&P Global Platts: Russia's Gazprom Sees Q2 International Gas Sales Slide 17% to 44.9 Bcm
LONDON, England, Aug. 14 -- S&P Global Platts, a subsidiary of S&P Global, issued the following news:
Russia's Gazprom saw its international gas sales in the second quarter slide by 17% year on year to 44.9 Bcm, according to an analysis of data published late Aug. 13 in the company's Q2 report.
Register Now The drop was of the same magnitude as in Q1 when sales were also down by 17% on the back of a second consecutive mild winter and robust storage stocks.
The data are also in line with Gazprom's projections for gas sales in the Far Abroad (Europe plus Turkey and China, but minus the countries
... Show Full Article
LONDON, England, Aug. 14 -- S&P Global Platts, a subsidiary of S&P Global, issued the following news:
Russia's Gazprom saw its international gas sales in the second quarter slide by 17% year on year to 44.9 Bcm, according to an analysis of data published late Aug. 13 in the company's Q2 report.
Register Now The drop was of the same magnitude as in Q1 when sales were also down by 17% on the back of a second consecutive mild winter and robust storage stocks.
The data are also in line with Gazprom's projections for gas sales in the Far Abroad (Europe plus Turkey and China, but minus the countriesof the former Soviet Union) in 2020 as a whole of 166-167 Bcm, around 17% lower than supplies last year of 199.3 Bcm.
The fall in sales in Q2 was driven in part by the demand impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which triggered the most serious lockdowns and economic disruption across Europe in April and May.
In addition, Gazprom sales in Q2 last year were strong by comparison as a result of storage demand driven by fears of potential gas supply disruption ahead of the expiry of the Russia-Ukraine transit deal.
Both factors likely played a part in some of the biggest sales slumps in a number of countries.
Gazprom sales in its biggest market Germany fell by 28.2% -- or by 3.32 Bcm -- to just 8.47 Bcm in Q2, according to the data.
Germany has instead been buying more gas from Norway, with supplies up by almost 20% year on year in Q2 to 8.42 Bcm, according to data from S&P Global Platts Analytics.
Meanwhile in Hungary -- which filled its storage sites to near capacity in 2019 due to the Ukraine disruption concerns -- Gazprom's sales slumped in Q2 by 34.2% to just 2.5 Bcm.
Turkey collapse
But perhaps the most startling drop in sales was in Turkey where Gazprom sold just 0.98 Bcm of gas, down by 73% from 3.59 Bcm in Q2 2019.
As a result, Turkey is now Gazprom's 12th biggest market, having been its second-biggest market as recently as 2018.
In July, Andrei Zotov, department head at Gazprom Export, told analysts on a conference call that Russian gas supplies to Turkey were deeply impacted by an influx of LNG into the Turkish market in Q2 "at significantly lower prices" than under Gazprom's long-term contracts.
He said some LNG that was turned away from Asia due to force majeure declarations turned up in Turkey, impacting Russian pipeline supply.
The 16 Bcm/year Blue Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey was also on maintenance in mid-May for a week, with supplies thought not to have resumed through the link, according to an industry source.
But Zotov said Russian pipeline supplies to Turkey had recovered again in July, with some "good offtake volumes", and that for 2020 as a whole sales to Turkey were expected to be flat on 2019.
Gazprom's sales in Turkey totaled 15.5 Bcm last year.
Still, the huge fall in Gazprom's sales in Q2 again highlights the fact that state-owned Botas and seven private Russian gas importers in Turkey are buying significantly less gas than they are contracted to under their oil-indexed, take-or-pay agreements.
It remains to be seen whether Gazprom will look to recover its debts from the Turkish companies and officials from both sides have rarely commented on the issue.
Other markets
There were big falls in a number of Gazprom's other biggest markets, including: Belarus (-10.4%), Italy (-11.8%), France (-16.5%), and the Czech Republic (-30.4%).
Gazprom did buck the trend for falling sales in some markets, however, in particular in the Netherlands where sales rose by 61% to 2.82 Bcm.
The Netherlands is increasingly dependent on imports of gas as production at the giant onshore Groningen gas field is gradually phased out.
Recent advice from the Dutch regulator, the State Supervision of the Mines (SodM), is to further restrict output at the field in the next gas year to 9.3 Bcm.
The quota for the current gas year is 11.8 Bcm, which is already down sharply from the previous gas year's quota of 19.4 Bcm.
Other countries where Gazprom saw sales increases in Q1 included Slovakia (+70%), Austria (+6.3) and Belgium (+36.2%).
Gazprom also registered pipeline sales for the first time in a second quarter to China after the startup in December of the Power of Siberia pipeline.
It supplied 0.86 Bcm to China in Q2.
Table can be found here: https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/topics/hydrogen
[Category: EnergyBiz]
S&P Global Platts: Pakistan Gas Infrastructure Tax Decision to Help Fund Projects, Pipelines
LONDON, England, Aug. 14 -- S&P Global Platts, a subsidiary of S&P Global, issued the following news:
Pakistan's apex court has allowed the government to collect a pending gas infrastructure development tax amounting to billions of dollars from fertilizer, power, chemicals and cement companies, according to the court's verdict Aug. 13, a move that would help policymakers to use the funds to develop gas projects.
Register Now The government in 2011 had imposed a gas infrastructure development tax aimed at collecting funds to develop pipelines connecting different parts of the country as well to
... Show Full Article
LONDON, England, Aug. 14 -- S&P Global Platts, a subsidiary of S&P Global, issued the following news:
Pakistan's apex court has allowed the government to collect a pending gas infrastructure development tax amounting to billions of dollars from fertilizer, power, chemicals and cement companies, according to the court's verdict Aug. 13, a move that would help policymakers to use the funds to develop gas projects.
Register Now The government in 2011 had imposed a gas infrastructure development tax aimed at collecting funds to develop pipelines connecting different parts of the country as well toother countries to plug the energy deficit.
But in 2016, the companies took the battle to court and appealed in the Supreme Court against the tax. As a result, the government had not been collecting the gas infrastructure tax since 2016. According to court documents, the outstanding amount was Rupees 457 billion ($2.7 billion).
Elaborating on how the government would recover the dues, Muhammad Saeed Khalid, head of research in Karachi-based brokerage house Shajar Capital, said that the companies would be allowed to pay their outstanding dues in 24 monthly installments over the next two years.
Pakistan's domestic gas production is currently around 3.8 Bcf/day, while demand has been around 6.2 Bcf/day in the summer and 6.8 Bcf/day during the winter months.
Pakistan currently has two operational LNG terminals -- Elengy Terminal, having a capacity of 600 MMcf/d, and Gasport Pakistan Ltd., also having a capacity of 600 MMcf/d. The government currently pays $500,000/d in capacity charges on a use-it-or-lose-it basis.
The power sector accounts for 37.44% of gas consumption, industries 18.84%, fertilizer 17.06% and transport 4.84%, according to court documents.
With Pakistan turning out to be one of the fastest growing LNG markets since it first started importing in 2015, analysts say there is an urgent need to speed up building domestic gas infrastructure and import capacity expansions, which have been planned to absorb incremental inflows.
[Category: EnergyBiz]
Meet Masaba Gupta, the Unapologetic Hot Mess, in Netflix's Next
MUMBAI, India, Aug. 14 -- Netflix, an Internet television network provider, issued the following news release:
What is life if not for a glorious mess at every step of the way? And who knows this better than our very own Masaba Gupta? An unconventional life, famous mother, juggling her fashion label, complicated matters of the heart... hell, even an unusual name -- can this woman catch a break? Well, the answer to that is a little more complex than a straight-up "yes or no". Grab your girl gang and buckets of popcorn to find out in Netflix's upcoming fictionalised series, Masaba Masaba, slated
... Show Full Article
MUMBAI, India, Aug. 14 -- Netflix, an Internet television network provider, issued the following news release:
What is life if not for a glorious mess at every step of the way? And who knows this better than our very own Masaba Gupta? An unconventional life, famous mother, juggling her fashion label, complicated matters of the heart... hell, even an unusual name -- can this woman catch a break? Well, the answer to that is a little more complex than a straight-up "yes or no". Grab your girl gang and buckets of popcorn to find out in Netflix's upcoming fictionalised series, Masaba Masaba, slatedto hit your screens on August 28, 2020.
Inspired by Masaba Gupta's story, the series gives you a sneak peek into the contrasting lives she lives -- from the fancy dos she attends with her celebrity friends to moments she is crying into a bottle of wine on the floor of her apartment, Masaba is as real as it gets. Masaba Masaba is a celebration of her life, successes and failures alikes, packing in a ton of fun, laughter and tongue-in-cheek humour that is synonymous with her and her actor mother, Neena Gupta.
Starring Masaba and Neena in lead roles, and as themselves, the series also presents an ensemble cast including Neil Bhoopalam, Rytasha Rathore, Smaran Sahu and Satyadeep Mishra in pivotal roles. What's more, the series is also peppered with surprise acts from celebrities like Kiara Advani, Farah Khan, Shibani Dandekar, Pooja Bedi, Gajraj Rao, amongst others.
At the launch of the trailer, producer Ashvini Yardi (Viniyard Films), said, "As the producer and creator of this series, I am genuinely excited to bring this first-of-a-kind concept for viewers. Masaba and Neenaji are inspiring women with a story to tell. It is the perfect recipe of fun, wit, inspiration, and emotion, all rolled into one. This series gave us a chance to experiment with a new format of fiction which is based on the real-life moments of a celebrity. We are glad to have partnered with Netflix in bringing this story to a global audience."
Co-writer and director Sonam Nair added, "Masaba and Neena Gupta are my kind of women -- confident, hardworking, sassy, and, most importantly, brave. We rarely see women in all their complexities on screen, and this was a chance to show them as they really are, including not just their strengths and achievements, but also their flaws, insecurities and messes. And to show that perhaps famous people are also just people after all. At the end of the day, they also stalk their exes, and suck in their stomachs before walking into a room, and lie to their bosses! I'm just waiting patiently (OK very impatiently) for the series to launch on Netflix!"
Highs and lows, ups and downs -- despite it all, if there's one thing Masaba Gupta can bet on, it's herself.
Masaba Masaba releases exclusively on Netflix this August 28, 2020.
[Category: MediaBiz]
Masdar and EDF Renewables Agree to Partner in Eight Renewable Energy Projects in United States
SAN DIEGO, California, Aug. 14 -- EDF Renewables, a renewable energy developer, issued the following news release on Aug. 13:
EDF Renewables North America and Masdar, one of the world's leading clean energy developers and a subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, today announced Masdar's second strategic investment in the United States (US) in a deal with EDF Renewables North America that will see it acquire a 50 percent stake in a 1.6-gigawatt (GW) clean-energy portfolio.
Under the terms of the agreement, Masdar has acquired a 50 percent interest in three utility-scale wind farms in Nebraska
... Show Full Article
SAN DIEGO, California, Aug. 14 -- EDF Renewables, a renewable energy developer, issued the following news release on Aug. 13:
EDF Renewables North America and Masdar, one of the world's leading clean energy developers and a subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, today announced Masdar's second strategic investment in the United States (US) in a deal with EDF Renewables North America that will see it acquire a 50 percent stake in a 1.6-gigawatt (GW) clean-energy portfolio.
Under the terms of the agreement, Masdar has acquired a 50 percent interest in three utility-scale wind farms in Nebraskaand Texas totalling 815 megawatts (MW), and five photovoltaic (PV) solar projects in California - two of which include battery energy storage systems - totalling 689 MW of solar and 75 MW of lithium-ion battery energy storage.
The 243 MW Coyote wind project is located in Scurry County, Texas; the 273 MW Las Majadas wind project is in Willacy County, Texas; and the 300 MW Milligan 1 wind project is in Saline County, Nebraska. All three wind projects are currently under construction and expected to begin commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2020.
In Riverside County, California, the Desert Harvest 1 and Desert Harvest 2 PV projects total 213 MW of solar and 35 MW / 140 MWh of battery storage. Also in Riverside County are the 173 MW Maverick 1 and 136 MW Maverick 4 solar PV projects. These four projects are also under construction and slated for commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2020. The final project in the portfolio is Big Beau, a 166 MW solar PV and 40 MW/160 MWh battery energy storage project, which is in Kern County and will reach commercial operation in 2021. All solar projects utilize horizontal single-axis tracking technology.
Power from the diversified portfolio projects will be sold under long-term contracts to a variety of offtakers, including utilities, hedge providers and community choice aggregators (CCAs).
In total, the eight projects have created more than 2,000 jobs in the country's clean energy sector, and will displace more than 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually/*.
"As the second largest renewable energy producer in the world in terms of installed power capacity, the US offers considerable scope for further growth and diversification of our renewable energy portfolio," said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar. "We are delighted to expand our presence there through this landmark deal to invest in eight clean energy assets in California, Nebraska and Texas, and to further strengthen our global partnership with EDF Renewables."
Masdar made its first entry into the US market last year, acquiring a 50 percent interest in two wind farms in Texas and New Mexico.
Tristan Grimbert, President and CEO, EDF Renewables North America commented, "EDF's collaboration with Masdar runs deep in the Middle East and North Africa already. This deal writes a new chapter of cooperation between our two companies focused on the North American market. I would like to highlight the exceptional quality of work for both the Masdar and EDF Renewables North America teams over the last year to execute this transaction in particularly troubled times."
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020 as it is subject to customary regulatory approvals. BofA Securities is acting as exclusive financial adviser to Masdar.
Footnote:
*According to United States Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator based on estimated energy production. https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator
[Category: EnergyBiz]
Mary Ann Liebert: Engineered Capsids for Efficient Gene Delivery to the Eye
NEW ROCHELLE, New York, Aug. 14 -- Mary Ann Liebert Inc. issued the following news release:
A rational design approach created novel variants of adeno-associated viral (AAV) capsids. These have improved transduction properties in the mouse retina and cornea. as reported in the peer-reviewed journal Human Gene Therapy.
Click here (https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/hum.2020.070) to read the full-text article free on the Human Gene Therapy website through September 13, 2020.
The efficient gene delivery of these variants was confirmed in non-human primate tissue.
"The capsid modified AAV2
... Show Full Article
NEW ROCHELLE, New York, Aug. 14 -- Mary Ann Liebert Inc. issued the following news release:
A rational design approach created novel variants of adeno-associated viral (AAV) capsids. These have improved transduction properties in the mouse retina and cornea. as reported in the peer-reviewed journal Human Gene Therapy.
Click here (https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/hum.2020.070) to read the full-text article free on the Human Gene Therapy website through September 13, 2020.
The efficient gene delivery of these variants was confirmed in non-human primate tissue.
"The capsid modified AAV2and AAV5 variants described here have novel attributes that will add to the efficacy and specificity of their potential use in gene therapy for a range of human ocular diseases," said Catherine O'Riordan and coauthors from Sanofi.
"The structural domains of the AAV capsid have become fundamental building blocks of many gene therapy vectors. The work by Dr. O'Riordan and her colleagues takes advantage of the new age of structural biology to intelligently redesign these building blocks rather than relying on empiric screening of variants. This rational design approach holds great promise for the field," according to Editor-in-Chief of Human Gene Therapy Terence R. Flotte, MD, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education and Dean, Provost, and Executive Deputy Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School.
[Category: MediaBiz]
HearstLab Announces Investment in London-Based Fintech Company FilmChain
NEW YORK, Aug. 14 -- Hearst issued the following news on Aug. 13:
HearstLab, an investor in women-led startups, today announced its seed investment in London-based financial technology (fintech) company FilmChain. The announcement was made by HearstLab Chairwoman Eve Burton and FilmChain Co-CEOs Maria Tanjala and Irina Albita.
Serving the global film and television industry, FilmChain collects revenues and pays production stakeholders in a transparent and automatic manner, leveraging a private Ethereum blockchain ledger to maintain transaction information. Further extending its leadership in
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, Aug. 14 -- Hearst issued the following news on Aug. 13:
HearstLab, an investor in women-led startups, today announced its seed investment in London-based financial technology (fintech) company FilmChain. The announcement was made by HearstLab Chairwoman Eve Burton and FilmChain Co-CEOs Maria Tanjala and Irina Albita.
Serving the global film and television industry, FilmChain collects revenues and pays production stakeholders in a transparent and automatic manner, leveraging a private Ethereum blockchain ledger to maintain transaction information. Further extending its leadership inproviding financial transparency, FilmChain recently launched dynamic customizable performance reports for producers, sales agents and investors - an industry first for film collection management.
"We are thrilled to invest in FilmChain, partnering with them to expand their business in the U.K. and U.S. They bring transparency to a traditionally opaque process, ensuring monies are paid and putting real-time performance tracking at the fingertips of key project stakeholders. We were impressed with their traction and ability to provide increased value to their media clients. We continue to advance our mission of helping women-led businesses grow and are excited to further expand HearstLab," Burton said.
"We are delighted to join HearstLab as an investment and strategic partner that shares our pursuit for a digital future of the entertainment industry and supports us in extending our product adoption with enterprise-level partnerships and in new territories," said Albita.
"Having such a great investor, committed to supporting female founders exactly at our stage of growth, made the conversation a perfect fit right from the start. We were thrilled to discover such wonderful partners, who are ready to roll up their sleeves and provide hands-on support," said Tanjala.
[Category: MediaBiz]
