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[ad_1] Explainer-Russian banks isolated, UK cuts insurance ties with Moscow [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Ahead of the DefExpo 2022, the government on Thursday (March 3, 2022) has accorded in-principle approval to four projects which are under Make-I (this is funded by the government) and five projects under Make-II (this is industry-funded) categories of Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020. According to an official statement issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), in a landmark decision, the projects received Approval – in – Principle (AIP) which was decided by the Collegiate Committee of MoD. Under this, the industry will be provided financial support for prototype development of these projects. Know which projects received AIP For the Indian Air Force (IAF): approval has been given for Communication Equipment with Indian Security Protocols. This includes the Switches, Routers, VoIP Phones and their software and Encryptors. Also, airborne stand-off jammer, Airborne Electro Optical pod with Ground Based System, for the IAF. And, for the Indian Army the long awaited Indian Light Tank. As has been reported earlier, in 2021, the MoD had released Request for Information (RfI) for 350 light tanks. The decision to have these tanks was taken in view of the 22 months standoff between the Indian and Chinese forces in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Chinese side has deployed a light tank, the Type 15 or ZTQ 15. The Indian Army has stationed its heavy weight T-90 tanks in Ladakh and this was in addition to the T-72 tanks, which according to information available in the public domain weighs around 45 tonnes. The Light Tank Indian army is looking for and is now planning to build in India is expected to weigh around 25 tonnes, amphibious, easily transportable, by air, road and water route and should have state-of-the-art and cutting edge technology and protection systems, armament and protection systems. It should have the capability to operate in different terrains including high-altitude places. According to the Ministry of Defence, this is the first time that the Indian industry has now been involved in the development of big ticket platforms like Communication Equipment with Indian Security Protocols as well as Light Tanks. Larsen and Toubro and a South Korean company are already talking about these tanks. Five projects which will be funded by the industry under the Make-II procedure received AIP. The IAF Full Motion Simulator for Apache Helicopter; Wearable Robotic Equipment for Aircraft Maintenance; and the Full Motion Simulator for Chinook Helicopter have received AIP. For the Indian Army one of the biggest projects that received the AIP is Autonomous Combat Vehicle; and Integrated Surveillance and Targeting System for Mechanised Forces More about Make-II category Under this, the government does not provide any funding for the development of the prototype. The industry has to fund the whole prototype development of the equipment/system and their platform. Under this the expenses have to be met by the industry for their upgrades or their sub-systems/sub-assembly/assemblies/components.  These are mainly going to help as import substitution and innovative solutions. How will this help? With the development of the prototype, design capabilities, the country will move towards self-reliance. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Compass CEO Robert Reffkin “People used to talk about Compass all the time,” said Jonathan Miller, a real estate appraiser at Miller Samuel, who compiles housing market reports for Douglas Elliman, a Compass rival. “Now, you don’t really hear about them.” If Miller is right and Compass, after raising $1.5 billion and flying to a $6.4 billion valuation in 2019, is a stale subject, that’s a shame because now anyone can become a Compass expert. The real estate brokerage unveiled its first annual report Monday, a federally required document for any public company. The dossier unveils everything from CEO Robert Reffkin’s ability to soon control 67% of the company to an all-you-can-eat buffet of details on an up to $600 million revolving line of credit provided by Barclay’s Bank. Here are the five biggest takeaways from the 2021 10K report. Compass did not respond to messages for this story: Shooting the non-GAAP Under Securities and Exchange Commission law, companies must apply generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, in reporting their finances. In other words, companies cannot make stuff up. However, while companies cannot lie, they can have fun and devise non-GAAP measurements. No less than 16 times during its February earnings call, Reffkin and CFO Kristen Ankerbrandt mentioned “adjusted EBITDA” or adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Though Compass had lost $494 million in net income, they made a $2 million profit through adjusted EBITDA. Compass arrives at its adjusted EBITDA figure by subtracting $386 million in stock-based compensation, though the majority of this expense is recurring annually. It also takes out $24 million in “acquisition-related expenses” despite the report stating Compass intends more acquisitions. And there’s a $21.3 million “litigation charge” (more on that in a sec). Instead of justifying dropping these expenses, the report warns about adjusted EBITDA’s limitations. “In evaluating adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses that are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments reflected in this presentation,” the report reads, later adding that Compass’s Adjusted EBITDA “varies from others in the industry.” Indeed, most other brokerages either do not provide an adjusted EBITDA figure or give one at less variance to net income. eXp World Holding’s yearly report, for instance, gives an adjusted EBITDA measurement of $4 million less than its $82 million in annual income. “All expenses should be included in their EBITDA,” said Michael Nourmand, president of Nourmand & Associates Realtors, a brokerage headquartered in Beverly Hills. “I run a privately owned company and we include all expenses in our profit and loss. In particular, I don’t see any reason to exclude litigation costs other than to make their numbers appear better.” Compass, though, is hardly reinventing the non-GAAP wheel. Office subleasing company WeWork became a punchline in 2018 partly because its “community adjusted EBITDA” took out marketing and even administrative costs as expenses. And Opendoor turned a $662 million loss in 2021 to a $58 million gain under Adjusted EBITDA. Perhaps coincidentally, all three companies grew after venture capital funding from the SoftBank Vision Fund. Litigation As The Real Deal first reported in November, Compass settled its lawsuit with Avi Dorfman who claimed that, along with Reffkin and Ori Allon, he co-founded the company. The yearly report reveals that the settlement was for $21.3 million, the aforementioned litigation charge. But while Compass is done duking it out with Dorfman, the company is locked in a three-year-old lawsuit with brokerage conglomerate Realogy. Compass has repeatedly lost motions to compel arbitration and take the case out of the public eye, according to the report. They are now in the discovery, or fact-finding stage, which is scheduled to last until October. Meanwhile, Compass is fending off with a stick trade secret lawsuits from brokerages, and even breach of contract cases from Compass’s own agents. Litigation, as Nourmand argued, may be a recurring expense. Agent productivity Compass has made agent productivity a calling card – the firm’s principal agents do 2.7 times the deals of the average agent, the report states. And agents who work at Compass say the brokerage gives them tools to be productive. User friendly templates for social media, email, and digital ads plus the ability to quickly customize videos are part of what “Compass has to offer that those other brokerages may not,” said Beatrice Stambulski, a Compass agent based in Sherman Oaks, California who spent a decade at Realogy-owned Coldwell Banker. Other agents praise Compass for listening. “The difference with Compass is that they regularly seek input and feedback, and testing from the agents,” said Matt McKee, a Compass broker in Orlando. “They do not deliver their product until it has been thoroughly tested by agents.” To ineptly paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, one can hold two seemingly opposed thoughts about Compass – a financially troubled company admired by agents. Still, those agents are not necessarily more productive. Principal agents refer to agents either working as lone wolves or heading a team. At Compass, agent teams can include the Aaron Kirman Group, a Los Angeles outfit that consists of Kirman and 84 additional agents. Whether that 2.7 number refers to deals Kirman did or deals Kirman and the 84 other agents did combined is not explained. Compass’s agents do not appear more productive than the average agent who does 10 deals a year, Miller said, declaring, “I would think that the leaders of teams would be doing many multiples more than the rest of the pack – 2.7 seems modest.” Mortgage joint venture Compass announced to some fanfare in July a partnership with Guaranteed Rate, a mortgage lender in Chicago that already partners with Realogy and @properties. For some observers, the joint venture holds promise as a path to the brokerage’s profitability. But the impact of the mortgage lender, OriginPoint, is so far minimal. Compass has invested just $3.7 million in a company for which it owns 49.9%, though this number could swell in 2022. Compass expects OriginPoint

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[ad_1] Amazon calls for dialogue with India's Future amid raging legal dispute [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] UP Elections 2022 Sixth Phase Voting Live Updates: An average 36.33 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 1 pm in the sixth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and several prominent faces are among 676 candidates, who are contesting on 57 seats spread across 10 districts. The voting started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. Around 2.15 crore people are eligible to vote in this phase. Till now, voting for 292 of the 403 Assembly seats has been completed. The final phase of the elections on the remaining 54 seats will be held on March 7. A total of 676 candidates are in the fray. Prominent of them are Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from the Gorakhpur Urban seat, Congress UP president Ajay Kumar Lallu from the Tamkuhi Raj seat, Samajwadi Party’s Swami Prasad Maurya from the Fazilnagar seat, and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, senior Samajwadi Party leader Ram Govind Chaudhary from the Bansdih seat, UP minister Surya Pratap Shahi from the Pathardeva seat, Satish Chandra Dwivedi from the Itwa seat, Jai Pratap Singh from the Bansi seat, Shree Ram Chauhan from the Khajani seat, and Jai Prakash Nishad from the Rudrapur seat.  [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Don’t miss this great sale on Ooly Easter Basket Goodies! Zulily is running a big sale on Ooly Easter Basket Goodies right now! There are SO many cute arts & crafts items in this sale under $10! Choose from journals, diamond painting kits, Scratch & Scribbles, markers, crayons, and more! Shipping starts at $6.99. But if you place one order today, the rest of your orders will ship for FREE through 11:59 p.m. PT tonight! [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Japan's JAL, ANA cancel all flights to and from Europe on Thursday [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Russia Ukraine Crisis Live Updates: The Russian government at a media briefing had alleged that the Ukrainian authorities have held a large group of Indian students in Kharkiv as hostages. Russia had said that their armed forces are ready to take all necessary measures for the safe evacuation of the Indian citizens, and send them home from the Russian territory with its own military transport planes or Indian planes. In response to media queries regarding reports of Indian students being held hostage in Ukraine, the Official Spokesperson from the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Arindam Bagchi said, “Our Embassy in Ukraine is in continuous touch with Indian nationals in Ukraine. We note that with the cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities, many students have left Kharkiv yesterday. We have not received any reports of any hostage situation regarding any student. We have requested support of the Ukrainian authorities in arranging special trains for taking out students from Kharkiv and neighbouring areas to the western part of the country.” “We have been coordinating effectively with the countries in the region including Russia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova. A large number of Indian nationals have been evacuated from Ukraine in the last few days. We appreciate the help extended by the Ukrainian authorities to make this possible. We thank Ukraine’s western neighbours in receiving Indian nationals and for accommodating them while they waited for flights to take them back home,” Bagchi added. The Indian government continues its efforts to evacuate Indian nationals from Ukraine. The third Indian Air Force’s C-17 aircraft carrying 208 Indian nationals from Ukraine, landed at Hindan airbase near Delhi from Rzeszow in Poland, reported ANI. Another flight from Budapest carrying 183 Indians stranded in Ukraine landed in Mumbai today, an official said. According to PTI, Union minister Raosaheb Danve welcomed passengers of the third evacuation flight from Budapest to Mumbai, as soon as the Air India Express Flight IX 1202 landed here around 5.30 am. Meanwhile, Russian forces are in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and have made their way into the council building, the mayor said, reported Reuters. According to the report, the Black Sea port of Kherson, which has a population of around 250,000 people, would be the first significant city to fall into Moscow’s hands. Russia had earlier announced that 498 of its troops had already been killed in Ukraine. This was its first announced death count since President Vladimir Putin launched the attack. Here are the latest updates on Russia-Ukraine conflict: [ad_2] Source link

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