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Moderna (MRNA) Stock Up 23% on Positive Data for Coronavirus Vaccine
UU.Block • May 18, 2020 18:34 • Business
Moderna said its experimental coronavirus vaccine demonstrated immune responses in some of the healthy volunteers who were vaccinated in a clinical study. MRNA stock is up.
There seems to be great news coming from American biotechnology company Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA). An experimental coronavirus vaccine that Moderna is evolving for a longer period now is started to show encouraging early signs that it can make an immune-system response in the body that could help to fight COVID-19 virus, as per the sampling of data from a small, first human trial of the inoculation. The news has a very positive impact on Moderna (MRNA) stock. Now it is 23% up, at $82.50.
Broader markets rose as well, with S&P 500 futures and European stocks trading near session highs. The company said it will report full results from the trial later.
The company stated that the study was mainly recreated to watch for the safety of the vaccine itself and showed no evident warning signs in a small phase 1 trial. The trial is being run with the U.S. government, and Moderna intends to continue developing it to further testing.
A vaccine is currently treated as a crucial move toward lifting social-distancing measures and safely reopening borders, schools and events around the globe. The new coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, has infected more than 4.8 million people and killed over 317,000, propelling a global race by pharmaceutic companies, academic institutions and governments to find a cure.
Two Lower Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine Dose Levels Better Responding
Experts were also monitoring the blood samples from the test subjects and questioned if the vaccine helped them achieve antibodies that could combat an infection. The researchers revealed that at two lower dose levels that were used in the study, levels of antibodies found after getting a second shot of the vaccine either made even or surpassed the levels of antibodies found in patients who had recovered from the virus.
They looked at both the number of coronavirus antibodies produced and in a smaller batch of people if those antibodies were sufficient to stop the virus infecting cells in test-tube experiments. In 25 people who got either of the two smaller doses used in the study, researchers reported that the levels of antibodies equaled or exceeded the levels of antibodies found in patients who had recovered from the virus.
The second test was done by valuing the quality of those antibodies and it was only applicable to eight people because it needs more time in order to be done. However, in all eight people, the vaccine successfully aroused the body to create antibodies able to neutralize the virus in the test tube, so it can no longer infect cells.
Moderna Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel said:
"This is a very good sign that we make an antibody that can stop the virus from replicating. The data couldn't have been better."
Bancel also noted that safety profile seems to be satisfying, and the results were typical for any vaccine taken, meaning injection site pain and redness, and temporary fever or chills that vanishes on its own.
Bancel added the company had the urge to release the provisional data from the trial because of the high level of public interest in the vaccine itself. A phase 2 trial is expected to begin shortly, and Moderna stated a final-stage trial will begin in July. Bancel said the phase 3 trial will probably add on more thousands of healthy volunteers.
The Newest Vaccine Technology
Most vaccines either have some non-active pieces of a virus or some proteins from a virus made through genetic engineering. When injected into the body, they generate a abiding immune response comparable to that of a person who has been infected and recovered.
On the contrary, the mRNA technology being used by Moderna and several other banks on the body's own cells to produce viral proteins. Once injected into the body, the RNA goes inside the human cells and encourages them to make virus-like proteins, in this case, the "spike" protein on the surface of the coronavirus. If the vaccine is legit, those proteins then push the body to generate protective antibodies.
The fact is, that this technology is still pretty new and hasn't been used in an approved vaccine before. Still, it allows scientists to move fast into trials. Moderna started working on its Covid-19 vaccine at the same time as Chinese scientists put out the gene sequence for the virus in January. By late February, Moderna already conveyed the first coronavirus candidate vaccine group to researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. In March, the first healthy volunteer received a dose in the government-sponsored safety trial.
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Author: Teuta Franjkovic
Experienced creative professional focusing on financial and political analysis, editing daily newspapers and news sites, economical and political journalism, consulting, PR and Marketing. Teuta's passion is to create new opportunities and bring people together.
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Historic Home Ownership
Historic House Plaques
PRESERVING & CELEBRATING
HISTORIC WICKFORD, RHODE ISLAND
Wickford Village is a special place to visit. It's one of the oldest preserved colonial villages in the country. Stroll our streets and discover the historic homes and public buildings. Sit next to the beautiful harbor on Narragansett Bay and learn about its rich maritime past. From the architecture to its legacy of entrepreneurs and influential women, Wickford Village is worth exploring.
HistWick (Historic Wickford Inc.) is a nonprofit organization of community members dedicated to preserving, protecting and celebrating the cultural and historic features of this special place.
LATEST NEWS IN WICKFORD
See Our Interactive Map of Historic Homes & Places
Walking Tours of Wickford Village
Historic Markers
'coming soon'
Discover Wickford
LIVING HISTORY SERIES
An oral history of Wickford's past and present through interviews with people who have called this special place their home.
HISTORIC HOME OWNERSHIP GUIDE
Whether or not you're part of the local Wickford Historic District, the information and links provided here can help guide you in the stewardship of your historic home.
HistWick Membership is open to anyone interested in preserving, protecting, improving and celebrating the quality of life in the historic village of Wickford.
Living History Podcast Series
Margaret Ward
Harry & Kate Church
This is an oral history project documenting Wickford's past and present through interviews with some of the people who have called this special place home.
Hear Other Stories on the Podcast Page
Resources and Preservation Friends
Copyright Historic Wickford 2019
HistWick's mission is to preserve, protect and celebrate the historic village of Wickford, RI.
Historic Wickford, Inc.
Wickford, RI 02852
historicwickfordorg@gmail.com
© Copyright HistWick 2019

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https://1024-dot-apnews-dev.appspot.com/article/lyndon-johnson-martin-luther-king-jr-montgomery-alabama-television-bec20a5ed8de3d18d59f29db7913b73b
TV station donates thousands of items to Alabama Archives
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A television station has donated thousands of items including historic footage from the civil rights era to the Alabama Department of Archives and History, which will make the material available to the public.
WSFA-TV in Montgomery announced it had given the agency materials dating to the 1950s, including footage from news conferences by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., coverage of the Freedom Riders in 1961 and original film from the "Stand in the School House Door" by then-Gov. George C. Wallace in 1963.
The video also includes scenes from a visit to the NASA center in Huntsville by the President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon Johnson in 1962 and special reports on the death of former University of Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant in 1983.
While the TV station was planning to switch locations, managers determined it wasn't practical to move the large numbers of delicate film reels and boxes full of video and other items.
Steve Murray, the Archives director, said archivists had long suspected the WSFA studios held valuable content for historical preservation, and his department jumped at the opportunity to add to its collection when a phone call came in late 2019.
"It was one of those kind of chilling moments ... where the hair stands up on the back of your neck when you see these closets after closets of tapes and films," Murray explained. "Just the opportunity to take something off the shelf and see a label ... related to the civil rights movement or to other major public events and Alabama's life and history really made you, made me appreciate the value of what was there."
The donation includes more than 7,000 audiovisual items in a variety of formats, plus WSFA-TV scrapbooks, photographs, negatives, correspondence with viewers and officials and newsletters.
"We are intimidated by this collection, to be honest with you, because it is huge," said Meredith McDonough, digital assets director for Archives and History, "and because it is unlike anything we have."
Under the terms of the donation agreement, the department will use the material to benefit state citizens through museum exhibitions, K-12 classrooms and other educational products. WSFA-TV will be able to broadcast and publish the content of the collection after it is digitized.
The agency is processing "test batches" of film and it will take years to fully process the boxes. So far, about 15 hours of film has been digitized, which represents only 30 items in the collection.
No payment was made for the collection, WSFA-TV reported.


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2021 Citizens of the Year
Meet the folks who flipped off the Philly shrug this year
We entered 2021 much as we leave it: Uncertain what the next few months will bring, hopeful that we are turning a corner on the epidemics we face, prepared to adapt and jump into the fray whenever and however we're needed.
Because that's another thing that has remained consistent this year: Philadelphians from all corners of our city came out to support one another, nourishing our bodies and our spirits, and reaffirming what we love most about Philly—citizens who are committed to making it a better place for all of us.
Take Dr. Dan Taylor, a pediatrician at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children who, on his daily commute, recognized the absence of proper basketball nets on local playgrounds—and set about raising funds to replace them, as a means of enticing kids to want to play and instilling neighbors with a sense of pride in their surroundings.
RELATED: We can all be incredible Philadelphians. Check out our Do Something guides for ideas on how to get involved in solving everyday city issues, such as hunger, homelessness school woes and more.
Or Thomas Quinn, the Central High School teacher who doesn't just preach to his students that their voices matter, but has empowered them to register to vote, and to register their peers to vote, in droves.
There are the grieving mothers who hunt down their children's killers; the neighbors advocating for their rights; the business leaders creating jobs and putting oft-overlooked candidates in positions of power; and the doctors doing so much more than just doling out medicine.
Below, some of the most dedicated Philadelphians who inspired us over the last year.
DOCTORS THINKING BEYOND THE EXAM ROOM
DR. RUTH ABAYA
Through her research, publications, and testimonies in front of various state committees, the CHOP pediatric ER doctor and public health manager became the program manager for the Injury Prevention Program at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. And that role opened the door for Abaya—one of last year's Integrity Icons—to simultaneously be named a Stoneleigh Fellow, through which she is working on a project to create a registry of people who are injured by gun violence, tracking them to understand how well we as a city do in getting them the resources they need.
DRS. FLORENCIA GREER POLITE AND EUGENIA SOUTH
At Penn Medicine, when they learned that White workers were three times more likely to sign up for a vaccine than Black workers, Dr. Florencia Greer Polite, Dr. Eugenia South, and fellow Black physicians set out to change that with a program getting noticed across the country. The three-part effort was designed to educate and remove barriers for Black staff members to get vaccinated. "As Black leaders at Penn Medicine, we recognized our unique position to address our community directly: to own the past mistakes of the medical profession, acknowledge present-day racism in healthcare and offer an opportunity for conversation about the vaccine with trusted messengers," Dr. Polite and Dr. South wrote in an op-ed for The Los Angeles Times.
DR. ALA STANFORD
Photo courtesy Dr. Ala Stanford
The founder of the Black Doctors Covid-19 consortium made headlines in 2020 for the speed and efficiency with which she reached out to test overlooked communities in Philly; in 2021, she broke even more barriers, launching The Dr. Ala Stanford Center for Health Equity (ASHE) at 2001 W. Lehigh Avenue—better known as 20th and "Dr. Ala Stanford Way," thanks to the city rightfully renaming it in her honor—where her team's focus has expanded to include addressing the wide array of health disparities and challenges that affect our communities of color.
DR. DAN TAYLOR
The St. Christopher's pediatrician is constantly finding new ways to uplift Philly youth. His latest endeavor is Need-a-Net Philly, a grassroots movement to repair basketball hoops around the city—and restore dignity to neighborhoods.
THOSE NERDY GIRLS
Some of the scientists behind Dear Pandemic
Philadelphian Ashley Ritter and the other women nurses, doctors, and scientists who answer questions and allay fears through their Facebook page and blog, Dear Pandemic, have provided a no-nonsense, no-panic voice of reason throughout Covid-19 to 100,000 regular followers around the globe. We have turned to them with questions about going back to school, gathering with friends, understanding vaccines and variants, and keeping track of the often baffling science behind the coronavirus. As Ritter says, "Science is not a fixed body. It changes all the time. People have a hard time with that."
THE EDUCATORS
CARLOS APONTE
The high school history teacher has met the challenges of illiteracy and disenfranchisement with creativity and passion. The nonprofit he launched, We Love Philly, empowers students with professional skills and community engagement through volunteerism, mindfulness, content creation, and entrepreneurship.
RICHARD GORDON IV
Principal Richard Gordon | Photo courtesy Philadelphia Academy of School Leaders
The Principal of the Year—and The Citizen's people's choice Integrity Icon—thinks the key to turning around Philly schools comes down to human connection. His work at Robeson High School may prove him right. Among other accomplishments, he turned Paul Robeson High School for Human Services, a school with a 90-percent poverty rate and 100-percent minority population and one that the District had been planning to close in 2013, into one with a 95-percent graduation rate.
His success can be attributed to the formal programming he's put in place—from mental health counseling to career mentorship to partnerships with Philly's institutions of higher ed. But his progress all comes back to his unique gift of empathy.
THOMAS QUINN
The Central High School social studies teacher is empowering our city's youth to exercise their most profound civic right: voting. Since 2015 Quinn has been organizing Philly Youth Vote, through the Caucus of Working Educators—an activist coalition within the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers—to lead a non-partisan effort to register every eligible high school senior in the city. So far, the group has recruited teachers in 45 district schools who have volunteered to get registration information and forms into the hands of any of the 8,000 seniors who turn 18 each year.
THE NURTURERS
MELANIE CATALDI
Photo: Melanie Cataldi| By Sabina Louise Pierce
Melanie Cataldi turned her masters thesis into the hunger- and poverty-fighting culinary school at Philabundance. The goal: Ending hunger for good. Cataldi has worked for Philabundance for 20 years, during which she helped to launch and expand Philabundance Community Kitchen—which itself has launched hundreds of careers in the food industry.
JOSHUA SANTIAGO
Over the course of the last six years, in between working paid jobs like driving for rideshare companies, Santiago estimates that he's given around 8,000 haircuts to homeless Philadelphians through his nonprofit, Empowering Cuts. Through a GoFundMe that raised $70,000, this year he purchased an RV and outfitted it with all the tools a barber needs. Then he hit the road, heading to California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Texas, offering free cuts all the way.
KHALIL STEWARD
Header photo of Khalil Steward, founder of Farmacy, courtesy of @bxadigital
The Somerville native started Farmacy in 2019 to bridge the gap left behind when neighborhood produce stores—like the one his grandfather ran while Steward was growing up—shut down. Farmacy sources fruits and vegetables mainly from local Black and Brown farmers and makes them available to Philadelphia residents at affordable prices, to an average of 50 families every other week and at pop-up farmers markets at Franny Lou's Porch and the Second Sundays market in Fishtown.
THE ADVOCATES
BRANDON "B.MCFLY" CHASTANG
Brandon Chastang, publicly known as B. McFly, has leveraged his own experience with opiate addiction to preach sobriety, prevention, anti-violence and love to more than 95,000 Instagram followers, on his Self Inventory podcast and in speaking events throughout the city. In particular, the West Philly native connects with African American audiences through, in his own words, his strong ties to urban culture—the way he speaks and dresses, for example—that portray a sincerity others can't imitate. "[Urban culture] is more to us than just entertainment," Chastang says.
TERRILL "YA FAV TRASHMAN" HAIGLER
Photo by Sabina Louise Pierce
Terrill Haigler, aka Ya Fav Trashman, began as a largely anonymous sanitation worker and civil servant with an intriguing Instagram account that promised an inside look into his work. Within the span of roughly 18 months, he's become one the city's best-known activists, a man who has garnered national attention for the work he's doing, shining a light on the city's trash issues, and how the city is (or is not) dealing with them. Today Haigler is CEO of YaFavTrashman LLC and founder of the nonprofit Trash 2 Treasure, is an influencer (with 28.7K Insta followers), sanitation guru, public speaker, brand ambassador, entrepreneur, author, environmental activist and clean-up evangelist.
MOTHERS OF GUN VIOLENCE
Mothers of gun violence victims at a City Council hearing demanding change.
In Jo Piazza's seven-part podcast chronicling a year of our city's horrific gun violence epidemic, one group of people stood out among all the others working to fight this issue: Moms, who are not only the emotional and moral voices of this issue, but are also often the ones tracking down their childrens' killers. Listen to the full series here.
CHEKEMMA FULMORE-TOWNSEND
Fulmore-Townsend, part of our Generation Change Philly, has spent the last 16 years, including the last seven as president and CEO, at Philadelphia Youth Network, which has provided more than 225,000 opportunities for young people in the city to get paid work experience and develop career readiness skills. For each of those paid opportunities, money has been put in the pockets of Philly young people—and then, data shows, circulated back into their communities. In 2019-2020 alone, for example, a total of $4,206,538 was distributed to youth via wages and incentives.
ZULMA GULMAN
Guzman describes herself as a "trabajadores social sin titulo"—a social worker without a title. On a given day, she could be seeking out health care for a mom and her kids; connecting a young student with English classes; packing up food and clothing donations to distribute; or showing a recent arrival how to navigate the city by bus. All this, while juggling cleaning houses, making and selling pupusas and volunteering with organizations like The Philadelphia AIDS Consortium and Alianza.
THE CULTURAL MAKERS
JEANNINE A. COOK
Harriett's Bookstore owner Jeannine Cook poses with supporters outside her store.
Everything about Cook is baller: She founded Harriett's Bookshop in Fishtown with its focus on writers who are women of color; she employs student interns, mentoring them in the ways of entrepreneurship and activism; she hands out free books; she delivers books on horseback; and this year, she added a second, "sister," location. She has revived—and changed—what a bookshop can and should be, and we cannot wait to see what she does in 2022.
KEMAR JEWEL
Courtesy of Kemar Jewel
The Philly native and Temple-trained choreographer uses dance to celebrate the Black queer experience, and offer hope for all of us. His digital dance pieces have gone viral—with more than 14 million hits worldwide.
MEERA MENON AND PHILIP CHEN
With The Unscripted Project, the recent Penn grads are pioneering an improv program for teens in Philly's public schools that is boosting confidence, decreasing social anxiety and helping students understand their own emotions. It's so successful, Wharton is starting to use its methods in its classes for executives and MBA students.
PARTNERS FOR CHANGE
JEFF MARRAZZO AND JOHN FRY
John Fry and Jeff Marazzo | Photos by Sabina Louise Pierce
Spark Therapeutics Marrazzo and Drexel University President Fry are betting big on a new $575 million innovation center that will bring 500 middle class pharmaceutical manufacturing jobs to West Philly—with another five jobs outside biotech expected to follow. For the city—and for the average Philadelphian—Spark's ascendance means not only the potential to rewrite the city's story, but also growth on a grand scale.
MICHAEL FORMAN AND RYAN BOYER
Ryan Boyer and Michael Forman
FS Investments founder Forman and labor leader Boyer's Philadelphia Equity Alliance has an audacious goal: To make Philly the most equitable big city in America. The unlikely partnership between the two men during Covid has garnered support from FS, Boyer's Laborer's Council, Drexel University and CHOP. It has formed working committees on a handful of pressing problems facing Philadelphia—gun violence, getting capital to Black and Brown businesses, health equity, education—and has, on the policy front, engaged both McKinsey Consultants, for a roadmap on how to fuel Black and Brown jobs, and Drexel's Bruce Katz, Citizen columnist and former chief of staff at HUD under President Clinton, who is a national leader on fostering inclusive growth in cities.
MARIA QUIÑONES-SÁNCHEZ AND JARED G. SOLOMON
Only two elected officials have long spoken out against the tyranny waged on Philly's body politic by John Dougherty and his enablers: State Representative Jared Solomon and City Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez. Corruption in Philadelphia costs everyone: A 2014 study by Indiana University and the University of Hong Kong found that corruption in Pennsylvania costs the average citizen of the Commonwealth $1,300 per year. No doubt, that's much higher in Philly, where government is so often hijacked by private interests. To avoid being an accomplice, take in what Solomon and Quiñones-Sánchez had to say in this Zoom chat with Citizen co-founder Larry Platt and, as Platt says, "get in the game of defibrillating local democracy yourself."
THE ENTREPRENEURS
GREG DEAVENS
For the first-year IBX CEO, diverse hires and tackling health equity is smart business. Right out of the gate, Deavens has put his stamp on his company and in the region around two of his abiding passions: diversity and inclusion, and confronting stubborn health equity issues.
TANYA T. MORRIS
Photo: Tayna Morris | By Sabina Louise Pierce
In 2017, Generation Change Philly's Morris launched Mom Your Business, a nonprofit that helps Black and Brown female entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses, whether they're in the early stages of brainstorming, or the later stages of seeking capital. "My mission is to help Black and Brown females turn obstacles into opportunities. Mom Your Business is like coming full circle, having had all those relationships that have shaped and molded me in business and in my personal and my professional and my spiritual life as well," she says.
SULAIMAN RAHMAN
This pipeline builder is helping to place people of color on boards and in high-powered jobs to make meaningful change to our city's institutions. Since launching in 2017, the program has graduated over 160 people and filled over 145 nonprofit board seats. Simultaneously, the executive search arm of Rahman's business is placing workers in roles that fall into the sweet spot of $100,000 to $250,000 salaries. And in November, DiverseForce opened the doors to P4, a membership community in Germantown with co-working space for individuals, public, private, and philanthropic partners, and limited office space rentals. Lendistry, Founders First, and NFL Alumni Performance Lab have all committed so far.
WIL REYNOLDS
Wil Reynolds | Photo by Sabina Louise Pierce
Last year, Seer Interactive founder Wil Reynolds turned down a $50 million offer for his internet search firm. Instead, he's investing his company's wealth in his employees and his community: spreading his company's wealth to his employees through new minimum salaries and profit-sharing; spending money to encourage volunteerism and charity among his workers and clients; and launching a determined effort to use Seer's success to invest in the neediest in our community to the tune of $15 to $20 million over the next decade.
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Home » News » Crime » Arrest made in murder of Bee Love
Arrest made in murder of Bee Love
by Kyra Shportun
9:47 AM EST, Fri December 24, 2021
HENDRY COUNTY, Fla. — An arrest has been made in the 2019 Clewiston murder investigation of Bee Love.
Marcus Lynell Thompson, 35, of Moore Haven, was arrested and is facing charges of 1st degree homicide — accessory after the fact and arson — accessory after the fact.
Photo: Marcus Thompson arriving at the Hendry County Jail
Detectives interviewed several hundred people and executed 56 search warrants in connection to the case.
Bee Love, a 23-year-old transgender woman, was found dead in Clewiston on Sept. 4 in a car that was fully engulfed in a fire. Her body had been burned so badly that investigators had to use dental records to confirm it was Love.
Apart from a $5,000 reward offered by the FBI for information on her murder one year later, news on the case has been limited.
On Sept. 25, 2019, the sheriff's office had named a suspect in the case but Sheriff Steve Whidden said he has since been cleared as a person of interest.
Detectives believe they know who the main suspect is and that there may be more than one other person involved. Sheriff Whidden would not provide any further information on the case as the investigation is still active.
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Tags: Bee Lovehate crimehendry county sheriff's officetransgender
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The Tufts Department of Computer Science encourages every student at the university to explore our discipline, regardless of previous exposure to the subject. Our introductory courses require no previous background. We strive to create an environment in which all students can fully explore their interests in computer science, whether that be by taking a course or two, minoring in the subject, majoring in it, or getting a master's or Ph.D. We seek to prepare our students for impactful and rewarding careers in computer science as well as the many other fields that can benefit from computer science expertise.
The Tufts Department of Computer Science is engaging and inclusive, built on finding strength through diversity. Our department is diverse in race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, ability/disability, age, socioeconomic background, academic experience, veteran status, and many more dimensions than we can list here. We recognize that a diverse student body is vital to producing future leaders, creating innovative technologies, and serving society.
Our partnership with the Building, Recruiting, and Inclusion for Diversity (BRAID) initiative underscores this commitment. The department is a 2018 BRAID Affiliate. The initiative, co-led by AnitaB.org and Harvey Mudd College, was created in 2014 in the hopes of ultimately improving diversity and representation in computer science. Affiliates commit to increasing the diversity of their computing departments and learn best practices from other BRAID schools.
In 2019, an enterprising group of nine sophomores created a new CS student group: Black Students in Computer Science (BSCS). The charter of the group is the following:
BSCS is dedicated to fostering a sense of community for Black students who are studying computer science and related fields such as data science and cognitive brain science. Representing one of Tufts' most underrepresented groups in CS, BSCS exists to provide professional development, technical training, solidarity, and equitable opportunity for all students among the African diaspora. BSCS provides a welcoming, collaborative space for students to connect and form meaningful relationships while also growing as future leaders in the tech industry.
In addition to working to build an inclusive community at Tufts, we support students from underrepresented groups by sending them to conferences at which they can experience being in the majority. In the past, we have sent students to the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, the ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing, National Society of Black Engineers conventions and conferences, the Lesbians Who Tech Conference, and oSTEM's annual conference.
The Tufts Department of Computer Science strives to foster diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the context of a School of Engineering and a university that shares these goals. To support these efforts, Tufts University established a Center for STEM Diversity in 2008 that works in partnership with the School of Engineering and the School of Arts and Sciences to foster a diverse and inclusive science and engineering learning environment.
Funding and fellowship opportunities
AS&E Diversity Fund Committee
Tisch Summer Fellows Program
Tisch Fund for Civic Engagement
The Tufts Department of Computer Science is proud to support initiatives that encourage women to pursue computer science at Tufts and beyond.


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How Do Silver Wheaton, Franco-Nevada, and Royal Gold Make Money?
This trio of precious metals companies are not miners, and that's a big difference investors need to keep in mind.
Reuben Gregg Brewer
(TMFReubenGBrewer)
Apr 13, 2017 at 11:09AM
Reuben Gregg Brewer believes dividends are a window into a company's soul. He tries to invest in good souls.
If you're in the market for a gold and silver stock, you could buy a miner. But that would be missing a key part of the precious metals industry that might be a better option for you. The niche sector you're overlooking is the streaming and royalty business, where Silver Wheaton (NYSE:WPM), Franco-Nevada (TSX:FNV), and Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) are three of the biggest players. Here's how they're different and why you might want to own one, or more, of them.
Mining and not
Precious metals mining is a pretty straightforward thing: You dig up gold and silver and sell it. Obviously, it's more complex than that, but those are the basics. Gold and silver streaming companies don't do that. Instead, they provide money up front for miners in return for the right to buy gold and silver at reduced rates in the future. For example, Silver Wheaton pays roughly $4 an ounce for silver and $400 an ounce for gold, way below the current spot price for each metal.
Image source: Royal Gold, Inc.
It's understandable that Silver Wheaton would want to lock in low prices, but why would a miner want to sell silver and gold on the cheap? There are a number of possible answers. If precious metals are in a slump, then the market price for mining stocks is likely to be depressed, so selling stock would be a less-than-desirable avenue for raising cash. Undesirable interest rates in the bond market or from banks could push miners toward streaming deals, too. So, if a miner needs cash to shore up its balance sheet or fund a new mine, streaming companies could be the most economic option.
Then there's the situation in which gold and silver are just byproducts of mining for some other metal. A good example of this is the 2015 gold streaming deal Royal Gold inked with Teck Resources (NYSE:TECK). The $525 million agreement was related to the Carmen de Andacollo mine, which is primarily a copper mine. In fact, Teck's main businesses are metallurgical coal, copper, and zinc. Teck was just monetizing an asset that really wasn't all that important to the company, pushing forward income that it would have otherwise taken years to earn.
A quick overview of the streaming process. Image source: Silver Wheaton.
The implication
So, Silver Wheaton, Franco-Nevada, and Royal Gold aren't miners. That means you have to think about them a little bit differently since they are more like specialty finance companies.
For example, the recent commodity downturn was a great time for this trio. Giant miners were struggling financially, desperate for cash, and eager to make deals. To put some numbers on that, Franco-Nevada's production was up a massive 29% in 2016, hitting an all-time record because of the deals it was able to ink with troubled miners during the precious metals downturn. So, when miners are struggling, streaming companies can actually benefit.
But how does that growth get funded if gold and silver prices are low? Although cash from operations is a part of the story, another big piece of the puzzle is using short-term debt to ink a streaming or royalty deal, and then issuing stock to permanently fund the transaction. That means you need to keep an eye on share count -- and potential shareholder dilution. Royal Gold, for example, made a point of telling shareholders at its annual meeting that it had issued fewer new shares than Silver Wheaton or Franco-Nevada during the commodity downturn.
Royal Gold has been stingy with the shares. Image source: Royal Gold.
What about when large miners have easier access to other funding options? In those situations, streaming companies may find themselves dealing with secondary miners and projects that are in earlier stages of development. That's not bad, but there are more risks involved, including mines that just don't pan out as expected, and miners that hit a financial wall. There are contract stipulations that can limit the pain of a mistake, like requiring the return of money if things don't go well, but the time that a streaming company's capital was tied up in a bad investment can't be made up. Silver Wheaton, for example, has invested in Barrick Gold's Pascua Lama mine -- this mine has been bogged down in legal, social, and environmental red tape for years and is still nowhere near completion.
The whole, not parts
It's probably best for you to think of a streaming company's investments as a portfolio. Silver Wheaton, Franco-Nevada, and Royal Gold are always trying to find the right mix of producing assets and developing assets that will lead to top- and bottom-line growth. Complicating the math is that mines have limited lives, so they also have to keep replacing production from mines that are petering out.
Franco-Nevada's game plan. Image source: Franco-Nevada.
And then there's the often volatile price of silver and gold. It's a complex process, and one you have to consider as a whole, looking at things like mine diversification and expected production from up-and-coming investments. And always remember that it's much easier for Silver Wheaton, Franco-Nevada, and Royal Gold to buy and sell a streaming contract than it is for a miner to buy or sell a mine, so things can change relatively quickly. That's a big plus in my book.
All of that said, if you're looking for a precious metals investments, the differences here could be exactly what you're looking for -- like owning a gold and silver company that can actually benefit from low precious metals prices. But you have to make sure you understand how Silver Wheaton, Franco-Nevada, and Royal Gold are different from miners like Teck and Barrick, otherwise you won't truly understand what you own.
RGLD
Royal Gold, Inc.
NYSE:GOLD
Franco-Nevada
TSX:FNV
Teck Resources Limited
NYSE:TECK
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How Do Silver Wheaton, Franco-Nevada, and Royal Gold Make Money? @themotleyfool #stocks $WPM $RGLD $GOLD $FNV $TECK Next Article


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Outlook for 2016-20
Macroeconomic policy since the 2008-09 global economic crisis has largely corrected internal and external imbalances, but spending pressures are building again, as fiscal policy has been relaxed and structural reforms have been delayed.
POLITICAL OUTLOOK
Following mass protests and the resignation in November 2015 of the government led by Victor Ponta's Social Democratic Party (SDP), a technocratic government led by Dacian Ciolos is in charge until the parliamentary election in November 2016. The president, Klaus Iohannis, elected in November 2014, effectively imposed a presidential system of government after the public lost confidence in the ruling parties. Mr Ciolos's inexperienced government, dependent on the support of SDP deputies, can do little other than implement policies agreed by the previous government. It is essentially a holding operation until the election.
After 26 years of post-communist democratic transition, popular dissatisfaction with the political class runs deep. The fire on October 30th 2015 at the Colectiv nightclub in the capital, Bucharest, which resulted in 64 deaths, appears to have been a turning-point in Romania's post-1989 history. The tragedy ignited public anger about pervasive corruption and unaccountable politicians, and led to large demonstrations in Bucharest and other towns and cities. The appointment of a technocratic government was an acknowledgement of the extent of popular distrust of the political system.
A poll conducted in early 2016 by the Romanian Institute for Evaluation and Strategy (IRES) found that 90% of Romanians have little or no confidence in political parties. Tainted by corruption and led by discredited politicians, the main political parties have little appeal for the electorate. This was confirmed by the low turnout of just above 50% in the mayoral, country and local elections held on June 5th (turnout in Bucharest was only 33%, and just 24% of the electorate voted for either of the two major parties), well down on the 64% recorded in the second round of the presidential election in 2014.
Traditionally, the countrywide local election results have been a good guide to the probable outcome of the parliamentary election that is held later in the same year. The results of the June 2016 local elections point to the return in November 2016 of a government headed by the SDP in alliance with its allies in the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) and the Association of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE). In the November election Romania will revert to the parliamentary electoral system that was in place before 2008, which is effectively proportional representation at the county level.
The parliamentary election in November 2016 will have new rules, following changes to electoral law in 2015.
• The election will be organised as a list-based system, last utilised in 2004.
• The amended electoral law stipulates a representation norm of 73,000 citizens per deputy (elected to the Chamber of Deputies—the lower house of parliament) and of 168,000 citizens per senator (elected to the Senate—the upper house).
• This will decrease the number of members of parliament from the 588 elected in 2012 to 466 in 2016. There will be 308 deputies, plus 18 deputies representing minorities, and 134 senators.
• An additional four deputies and two senators will be elected by the diaspora. These two senators will be elected by postal vote.
The SDP and its allies won an emphatic victory in the mayoral elections, beating the centre-right National Liberal Party (NLP) by 17 percentage points (51% to 34%). The margin was closer in terms of the popular vote, with the SDP and its allies leading the NLP by about 6 percentage points, at 39% to 33%. The share of the vote for the SDP was in line with opinion polls conducted in May, but that for the NLP was down by 5-6 percentage points. The poor performance of the NLP, which was supported by roughly 16% of the electorate, indicates either weariness with the anti-corruption campaign waged by Mr Iohannis or simply popular distrust of NLP politicians. Relations between the president and the NLP have cooled noticeably since the elections. With only 4% of the Bucharest electorate voting for the NLP candidate, Catalin Predoiu, who was widely expected to be Mr Iohannis's nominee for an NLP premiership, the president may be tempted to establish a new party and try to mobilise behind it the support of the 6.2m voters who supported him in the 2014 presidential election.
At 20% of the electorate, support for the SDP and the UNPR in the local polls was not particularly strong. However, the SDP may have benefited politically from the strong growth of household disposable incomes, stimulated by tax cuts and wage increases that the outgoing government (which was SDP-led) announced in 2015 and which the technocratic government subsequently implemented. The disaffected public mood and the lack of party loyalties among the electorate (outside of the patronage-dispensing local party machines that dominated the mayoral contests) make it very difficult to predict election outcomes with any degree of confidence.
The European Commission monitors Romania's progress under the co-operation and verification mechanism, with a focus on reforming the judiciary and tackling corruption. In 2015 corruption became a politically charged affair, when the then prime minister, Mr Ponta, was indicted on corruption charges. In its January 2016 report, the Commission praised the headway made by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) in securing the convictions of prominent politicians and other public figures charged with corruption. The DNA indicted 1,250 defendants. However, the Commission criticised parliament for its lack of respect for the judiciary and judicial decisions, and for voting to maintain parliamentary immunity from prosecution in cases of alleged corruption. At a meeting in March 2016 EU foreign and European affairs ministers decided to keep the co-operation and verification mechanism in place for both Romania and Bulgaria.
On May 12th the US officially activated a land-based missile shield system at a former air base at Deveselu in southern Romania, prompting sharp recriminations from Russia, which has said that the system is a direct threat to it. Now that the system has become operational, tensions between Russia and Romania are likely to increase.
In a referendum on June 23rd the UK voted to leave the EU. This will not have any immediate negative impact on Romania. The UK is not a major trading partner and trading relations will not be adversely affected in the short term. However, since the opening of the UK labour market to Romanians in January 2014, increasing numbers have gone to work in the UK. Tougher immigration rules may cap these numbers in future, but nothing is likely to change in the short term while the UK negotiates the terms of its departure. The political repercussions of Brexit could be more far-reaching, however, especially if it results in the evolution of a two-tier EU, with Romania being consigned to the second tier.
ECONOMIC POLICY OUTLOOK
Policy trends
Romania's stand-by arrangement with the IMF, which had been stalled for one year after disagreements about the SDP-led government's fiscal policies, expired in September 2015. An IMF mission visiting Romania in March 2016 for Article IV consultations issued a strong warning that tax cuts and wage increases threaten financial stability after 2016.
The government cut the rate of value-added tax (VAT) on foodstuffs (excluding alcoholic beverages and tobacco) from 24% to 9% in June 2015. On January 1st 2016 the standard VAT rate fell from 24% to 20% (it will be reduced to 19% in January 2017 under the present fiscal code). On October 27th 2015 the government adopted an emergency decree amending the fiscal code, bringing forward to 2016 several tax cuts planned for 2017. Among other measures, the tax on dividends was cut from 16% to 5%, and VAT on drinkable water was reduced from 20% to 9% from January 2016. From May 1st 2016 the technocratic government implemented a 19% increase in the minimum wage. Structural reforms to improve corporate governance and efficiency in public enterprises are unlikely to make much headway until a new government is formed. The Economist Intelligence Unit expects some fiscal moderation later in 2017, but this will come too late to prevent the fiscal deficit exceeding EU rules that year (on the ESA 2010 measure).
The consolidated budget recorded a deficit of 1.5% of GDP in 2015, but this 12 month total included a deficit of 2.4% of GDP in the last seven months of the year. The growth of VAT receipts slowed from an impressive 17.5% year on year (largely as a result of a crackdown on VAT evasion) in the first five months of 2015 to 8.8% in the last seven months. In 2016 the government targets a consolidated budget deficit equivalent to 2.8% of GDP on a cash basis (equivalent to 2.95% of GDP using the EU's ESA 2010 methodology). Budget revenue is officially projected at Lei231.1bn (US$55.4bn) in 2016, equivalent to 31.1% of GDP; expenditure is set at Lei252bn, equivalent to 33.8% of GDP.
Tax cuts will have a negative effect on revenue generation, but improvements in tax collection and absorption of EU funding in 2015, indicating a better-functioning central administration, suggest that there is a chance of meeting the target. (A recent study by an accountancy firm, PwC, estimates that Romania loses about €8.3bn—US$9.2bn—annually as a result of VAT tax evasion.) The consolidated government budget recorded a cumulative five-month deficit of almost €173m (US$192m; 0.1% of GDP) in January-May, compared with a surplus of €1.4bn (0.9% of GDP) in the year-earlier period. However, the cumulative deficit is smaller than had been expected. We forecast a deficit equivalent to 2.9% on the national measure (3% on the ESA 2010 measure) in 2016 and 3% of GDP in 2017 (3.2%, ESA 2010), putting Romania in breach of EU fiscal rules. We expect the next government to abandon or reverse some of the planned new tax cuts in 2017 and to oversee a modest fiscal tightening in 2018 to avoid a consumption-led excessive widening of the external deficit. Over the medium term we expect fiscal consolidation to be broadly maintained.
The National Bank of Romania (NBR, the central bank) operates an inflation-targeting regime with a multi-year target of 2.5% (±1 percentage point). The NBR began a policy of monetary easing in July 2013, cutting its monetary policy rate by a cumulative 325 basis points between July 2013 and May 2015 in response to a progressive reduction in inflation, weak domestic demand, negative credit growth and a persistent negative output gap. The central bank has kept the rate at 1.75% since May 2015. We expect the NBR to hold the monetary policy rate at 1.75% in 2016, amid general uncertainty about the fallout from the UK's decision to leave the EU, the slow¬down in Chinese and emerging-market growth, and the relaxation of domestic fiscal policy. Romania's monetary policy rate remains one of the highest in the EU, and compares with a rate of 0% in the euro zone and 1.5% in Poland.
The governor of the NBR, Mugur Isarescu, has said that Romania's target date of 2019 for joining the euro zone is no longer feasible, as the country would not be technically prepared to join the European exchange-rate mechanism (ERM II) by June 2016. The government has now abandoned the 2019 target date for euro entry and has said that a detailed plan to join the euro zone will be presented in 2017. We expect euro adoption to be postponed into the mid-2020s, and perhaps indefinitely.
Romania's real GDP grew by 3.8% in 2015. The increase in consumer purchasing power following the cut in VAT on foodstuffs in June 2015, from 24% to 9%, was the main stimulus to growth in the second half of 2015. Consumer demand was boosted by rising real household disposable income, owing to increases in wages, pensions and remittances from abroad, and rapid growth of new consumer loans. Final consumption expenditure by households rose by 5.9% and contributed 5.6 percentage points to growth. The other growth stimulus came from gross fixed investment, which grew by 7.7% year on year and contributed 1.8 percentage points to growth.
Growth of 4.3% (4.2% seasonally adjusted) in the first quarter of 2016 was driven by the rapid growth of retail turnover of 19% year on year (16.9% seasonally and working-day adjusted) following the cut in standard VAT from 24% to 20% on January 1st. In January-April retail sales grew by 17.7% year on year (adjusted) and 19.1% unadjusted. Increases in public-sector wages contributed to an increase in gross nominal wages of 12.1% year on year in January-April and an even stronger rise in real terms given deflation. Seasonally adjusted industrial output growth was modest over the first four months, at 0.7% (driven by 2.5% growth in manufacturing), and consumer demand is being partly met by increasing imports. Tax cuts and wage growth will bolster household consumption growth in 2016 and 2017, when we forecast real GDP growth of 4.5% and 3.4% respectively. Strong domestic demand growth will compensate for the euro zone growth slowdown that we forecast in 2017.
Sustaining growth of this magnitude over the medium term will depend on the economy's capacity to respond to the demand stimulus, which in turn depends on more rapid progress in implementing structural reforms. Signs of capacity constraints in some sectors of industry, for example in the automotive sector, suggest the need for deeper structural reforms to boost labour productivity, and for increased expenditure on education and infrastructure rather than on consumption. The economy is facing severe labour shortages in some sectors, notably automotives, with an estimated 2.4m Romanians working abroad. This is likely to be a disincentive to foreign investment in the medium and long term. We forecast average real GDP growth of 3.4% per year in 2018-20.
Better absorption of funding from the EU would contribute to investment in infrastructure, boosting export potential over the long term. Romania has obtained a potential €22bn in structural funds from the EU budget for 2014-20, and is also to receive €17.5bn in funds for agriculture during this period, under the common agricultural policy. However, Romania's absorption of EU structural funding is poor, despite some improvement; administrative deficiencies and the need for the government to co-finance projects will limit prospects for a significant increase in the absorption rate.
A series of tax cuts in 2015-16 has driven negative annual inflation over the past 12 months. Consumer prices edged up by 0.3% month on month in May, but the annual inflation rate, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), dropped to -3.5%, from -3.3% in April. Buoyant consumer demand will drive up inflation in the second half of 2016, when the impact of the June 2015 VAT cut is removed from the CPI. We expect average deflation of 0.9% and year-end inflation of 1.7% in 2016. In 2017 we expect average inflation of 3.2% and year-end inflation of 2.8% as the impact of the VAT cuts is removed from the CPI. We forecast annual average inflation of 2.4% in 2018-20.
The leu depreciated in nominal terms by 16.4% on average against the dollar in 2015. It remained stable against the euro, at Lei4.4:€1, which represents a depreciation in real terms of 0.6%. The leu depreciated in real effective terms by 4% against a trade-weighted basket of currencies in 2015. We forecast a milder weakening against the dollar in 2016, continued relative stability against the euro and a modest real effective depreciation against a trade-weighted currency basket. We expect the leu to appreciate modestly in real terms over most of the forecast period, in line with productivity differentials, as the economic recovery continues.
In 2015 the current-account deficit expanded to US$2bn, equivalent to 1.1% of GDP, from US$951m in 2014. In January-April 2016 the current-account deficit was €1.84bn, compared with a surplus of €282m in the year-earlier period. The deterioration in the current-account balance resulted from a widening of the primary income deficit from €780m to €2.5bn and an expansion of the merchandise trade deficit from €1.8bn to €2.5bn. As domestic demand fuels import growth, we forecast a widening of the deficit to 2.6% of GDP in 2016 and to an annual average of 3.3% of GDP in 2017-20.
Tags : macroeconomie
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World's 1st 3D Printed Neighborhood Being Built In Mexico
<iframe width="100%" height="124" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://player.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/02/06/worlds-first-3d-printed-neighborhood-mexico"></iframe>
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World's first 3D printed neighborhood. (Joshua Perez/Courtesy of New Story)
In rural Tabasco, Mexico, a community of 50 3D printed homes is now under construction.
The U.S.-based nonprofit New Story has teamed up with the tech company ICON to build the world's first 3D printed neighborhood. It's part of their project working to combat global homelessness.
Brett Hagler, the company's CEO and co-founder, says a machine that's on an X-Y axis will ooze proprietary cement mix out of a nozzle.
"It looks almost like soft-serve ice cream," he says.
The machine starts at the very bottom of the home, layering the cement all the way to top where a roof is then placed. Start to finish, the entire process takes just 24 hours to print.
The company hires local workers to do the necessary labor, Hagler says. The 3D technology and automation makes building homes faster, but workers are still required to attach the roof and doors, and install plumbing.
"We bring in the technology to make it faster, cheaper and ultimately a better product," he says, "and then be able to have local labor to add on the other components that are necessary."
Each 3D printed home will have two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and bathroom. Each home can withstand hurricanes and are seismic-approved in case of an earthquake, Hagler says. Being strong enough to stand against natural disasters has a "generational impact," he says, because families can pass the home down from generation to generation.
The kitchen inside a 3D printed home. (Joshua Perez/Courtesy of New Story)
New Story started in 2010 after a catastrophic 7 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti, leaving millions injured and homeless. Seeing the damage "broke my heart," Hagler says. He says when he went to donate, he couldn't identify a forward-thinking charity that was pioneering innovative technology and development work in the region.
Instead of traditional methods, he founded New Story to be able to face large scale disasters with new robotic technology that can quickly rebuild communities in dire need. In the case of residents of Tabasco, families there are living for less than $3 a day.
Now, using New Story's printer, known as "Vulcan 2," they are able to quickly build safe shelters. For now, Hagler says they are not publicly revealing how much the operation costs. However, he says they don't want to keep this innovation to themselves.
After their project in Tabasco, they hope to service other nonprofits who are working toward ending global homelessness.
"The big idea is to open source and democratize," he says, "and try to get this technology into the hands of other housing non-profits and other governments that have agendas to solve very serious problems in their towns and their cities."
Marcelle Hutchins produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Peter O'Dowd. Serena McMahon adapted it for the web.
This segment aired on February 6, 2020.
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