Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Paul is President of Quantum Computing at ColdQuanta , where he leads the team building the world’s most useful quantum computer. So much of modern life relies on GPS that it has been estimated that an outage would cost the U.S. economy over $1 billion per day. Such an outage isn’t too far-fetched. We have seen recent examples of GPS being blocked in conflict zones, spoofed for nefarious purposes and disrupted by solar storms. At its heart, GPS is a timing system. To understand how timing relates to navigation, and how quantum technology will enable us to overcome the limitations of GPS, we need to go back in history a few hundred years. Dava Sobel’s book Longitude recounts the tale of John Harrison’s mechanical clock that revolutionized maritime navigation and global trade. In the same way that Harrison’s clock accelerated economic growth through the 18th and 19th centuries, optical clocks are … [Read more...] about A Quantum Leap In Timing
Financial services
Incorporating BYOK Into Your Company’s Data Security Strategy
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Ameesh Divatia is co-founder & CEO of Baffle, Inc ., with a proven track record of turning innovative ideas into successful businesses. Cloud computing has changed how organizations think about security. Instead of focusing resources on protecting the perimeter of an on-premises database, a cloud-first environment requires organizations to consider how to protect the data itself. However, cloud computing brings with it additional security concerns. Encryption solutions have helped keep data secure, whether at rest or in motion. Still, many companies struggle with encryption key visibility and ownership, which typically belongs to the cloud service providers (CSP). It's difficult to assure customers that their data is secure if someone else can access their encryption keys. In recent years, the bring-your-own-key (BYOK) approach, which allows organizations to maintain control over data encryption keys, … [Read more...] about Incorporating BYOK Into Your Company’s Data Security Strategy
Prevent State Tax Issues Before You Move 529 Funds To An IRA
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Secure Act 2.0 brought about several consumer-friendly policies that should help people save more over time, as well as more flexibility when it comes to how funds in a 529 college savings plan can be used. Specifically, families will soon be able to move up to $35,000 from a 529 college savings plan into a Roth IRA for the account beneficiary, although annual contribution limits apply. This becomes an option for savers in 2024. Because annual contribution limits come into play here, maximizing the cap on this benefit will take several years. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has set the annual contribution limit across all IRA accounts at $6,500 for 2023 (unless you're 50 or older, in which case you can contribute up to $7,500 per year). ADVERTISEMENT The 529 plan making the transfer must also be open for at least 15 years, so it's not possible to open an account, fund it quickly, then move money … [Read more...] about Prevent State Tax Issues Before You Move 529 Funds To An IRA
T-bill rates rising
MANILA, Philippines -The national government raised only P8.55 billion out of the P15-billion goal from the issuance of Treasury bills (T-bills) as investors remained cautious in the aftermath of bank failures in the United States. The average rate on the benchmark 91-day T-bills rose 23.8 basis points (bps) to 5.149 percent from 4.911 percent last week. In the auction held March 27, the committee awarded only P1.428 billion worth of 91-day T-bills out of the P5-billion offering. Had the committee led by the Bureau of the Treasury gone with a full award, the average rate would have jumped 60.9 bps to 5.52 percent. Also, the committee awarded only P2.125 billion out of P5 billion of the offered 182-day T-bills. The new average yield was 11.1 bps higher at 5.677 compared to the previous 5.566 percent. The P5-billion offer of 364-day T-bills was fully awarded, and the average rate went up 12.3 bps to 5.987 percent from 5.864 percent. Further, the fresh average rates … [Read more...] about T-bill rates rising
There’s A New Retirement Normal For Public Employees: Supplemental Savings
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Late last year, Congress passed and President Biden signed SECURE 2.0 legislation as part of the Omnibus spending bill. Enactment of this legislation is a clear signal that policymakers understand the depths of the frightening retirement savings shortfall facing millions of Americans. The reasons are many for the nation’s retirement crisis – from rising costs to fewer pensions to longer life expectancy. Despite these challenges, one segment of the workforce has been on stable ground when it comes to retirement: the state and local government workforce. Today, the vast majority of state and local workers have a defined benefit (DB) pension, and nearly three-fourths of public employees participate in Social Security. Many state and local workers also are offered a retiree medical plan by their employer and have access to supplemental individual retirement savings plans similar to 401(k) accounts in the private sectors. … [Read more...] about There’s A New Retirement Normal For Public Employees: Supplemental Savings
Will Congress Repeal Roth IRA Benefits?
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Since the Roth IRA was created in 1997, a portion of the financial services community warned the Roth IRA was a trap. Congress would wait until Roth accounts held trillions of dollars, then repeal all or some of the tax benefits. From the start, I’ve been skeptical of the arguments that Roth IRAs are a trap and encouraged taxpayers to use them. I think there’s even less reason today to fear that there’s a Roth IRA trap. Life insurance and annuities have maintained their tax advantages for many decades despite academic and political arguments against them. That’s because insurance companies have good lobbying and many consumers now rely on the benefits of the products. Roth IRAs have the same advantages. Mutual funds and brokers are custodians for Roth accounts that hold a lot of money. These financial services companies have good lobbying organizations. Plus, a lot of consumers have Roths as part of their financial … [Read more...] about Will Congress Repeal Roth IRA Benefits?
Practical Principles For Your Company’s Path To Personalization (Part One)
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin John Thomas serves as chief strategy and innovation officer at Relay Network , a complete customer engagement solution for the enterprise. Much has been written recently on how companies can better personalize the customer experience. Many consumers expect personalization, and executives want to deliver personalization to their customers. Yet, some companies continue to struggle with exactly how to translate personalization from a strategy deck to actual customer interactions at a reasonable cost and time frame and at scale. I’ve found the scholarly articles that suggest capturing more data, using it better in real time, driving segments and personas, and delivering more relevant content often fall short of how exactly to put these ideas into practice considering data and infrastructure realities. Truth is, I’ve had the opportunity to work on personalization across four different industries in the last 10 … [Read more...] about Practical Principles For Your Company’s Path To Personalization (Part One)
BPI Century Tokyo to acquire Diamond Rent-a-Car
MANILA -BPI Century Tokyo Lease and Finance Corp (BPICT), through wholly-owned subsidiary BPI Century Tokyo Rental Corp (BPICTR), is acquiring Diamond Rent-a-Car, one of the biggest car rental companies in the Philippines. Diamond Rent-a-Car consists of three companies, which are Diamond IGB, Inc. (DIGB), Diamond Fleet Solutions Services Inc. (DFSSI), and Buenaflor Car Services Inc. (Pronto), all wholly owned by the Buenaflor family. DIGB was incorporated in 1980 and has been providing car lease and rental under the trade name of Diamond Rent-a-Car, while DFSSI and Pronto have been complementing the business through its fleet management BPO and car maintenance and repair, respectively. Satoshi Matsuo, president and CEO of BPICT and BPICTR, said the acquisition of Diamond Rent-a-Car was in line with their aim of being the operating lease and rental solutions company of choice in the Philippines, delivering products and services to valued partners with integrity and … [Read more...] about BPI Century Tokyo to acquire Diamond Rent-a-Car
How Starbucks’ New CEO Is Trying To Brew Employee Trust
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When Starbucks’ incoming CEO, Laxman Narasimhan, joined the company last October, he made an interesting (but very deliberate) choice about where to spend his time. Narasimhan donned one of the company’s signature green aprons and proceeded to attend 40 hours of training to become a certified Starbucks barista. When he officially took over the reins as CEO in March, Narasimhan indicated that he’d continue to serve as a barista for four hours a month, each time in a different Starbucks location. (He also pointedly noted that he expected his senior executives to do the same.) How and where a new CEO (or any leader, for that matter) spends their time says a lot about their priorities. You’ll typically find new, public company CEOs visiting with institutional investors, meeting with Wall Street analysts, huddling with the Board of Directors, etc. But attending a full week of frontline staff training? That’s generally not on … [Read more...] about How Starbucks’ New CEO Is Trying To Brew Employee Trust
Majority Of Voters Believe Buttigieg’s Response To Toxic Train Derailment Was ‘Fair’ Or ‘Poor’: POLL
More voters appear to be dissatisfied than content with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s response to an Ohio train derailment that exposed a small town to toxic chemicals in early February, according to a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released Friday. A Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3 and a controlled burn conducted on Feb. 6 to alleviate pressure within the cars released harmful chemicals including vinyl chloride into the environment. Buttigieg caught flack for failing to respond to the derailment until ten days later, and for not visiting the derailment site until three weeks after the initial crash. (RELATED: ‘Superman’s Not Coming’: Ohioans Brace For Tough Road Ahead After Toxic Train Derailment) Thirty-one percent of polled voters said that Buttigieg’s response to the derailment was “poor,” while 30% said that it was “fair,” according to the results. Conversely, 29% said that the response was “good,” but only 9% said it was … [Read more...] about Majority Of Voters Believe Buttigieg’s Response To Toxic Train Derailment Was ‘Fair’ Or ‘Poor’: POLL