House of Rose Professional Pte. Ltd (HORP) announced that Coca-Cola, Kroger, Diageo, BIC, Spin Master and Bureau Veritas will lead at the virtual 2022 North America Edition of Break the ceiling touch the sky® - the success and leadership summit for women to be held on Feb 28, 2022. The summit enables organizations across North America the opportunity to learn and share best practices for leadership, success and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) across industries and is an excellent opportunity for organizations to exchange learnings on gender diversity & inclusion ahead of International Women's Day. The 2022 North America edition of the summit is the kick-off edition of the 2022 World Tour of Break the ceiling touch the sky® (editions in North America, Europe, Asia, ANZ, Middle East and Africa in 2022). Break the ceiling touch the sky® has since 2015 enabled over 30000 women leaders to greater success. Plans are also open now for the 2022 India Edition of the summit which will be held on April 19, 2022.

The 2022 North America Edition of Break the ceiling touch the sky® will feature several C-Suite speakers including Shawn Till, EVP and CEO, North America, Bureau Veritas; Christina Ruggiero, President of Operations, Central Zone of North America, The Coca-Cola Company; Bob McDonald, Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs and retired Chairman and CEO, The Procter & Gamble Company; Tara Deakin, Chief People Officer, Spin Master Ltd.; Julie Hamilton, Chief Commercial Officer, Diageo; Chester Twigg, Group Commercial Officer, BIC; Helen Bradley, CHRO and Executive Committee Member, Bureau Veritas; Elle Morris, Senior Vice President, Global Strategy, Marks, a part of SGS & Co; Angie Halamandaris, Founder-President, Juniper Group and Co-Founder, Heart of America Foundation; Valerie Love, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, The Coca-Cola Company; Carlos Barroso, President and Founder, CJB and Associates; Alex von Behr, President, vBAssociates and Senior Advisor, House of Rose Professional and former Global Chief Customer Officer, Unilever Plc; Denny Iker, Principal, YI Consultants; Christopher Thomson, Site HR/LR Director, Oshawa Assembly, General Motors, Ranu Gupta, Managing Partner, Performance Leverage; and Anthony A. Rose, Chairman and CEO, House of Rose Professional and best-selling author of "Break the ceiling touch the sky: success secrets of the world's most inspirational women."

Break the ceiling touch the sky® is a key enabler of Mission 2029 for a Better World – HORP's joint 10 year mission with the world's leading companies to shape a better world through better diversity & inclusion, better leadership and better business. The measure for Mission 2029 for a Better World is to help quintuple the number of Female CEOs in the world's 500 Largest Companies (from 14 in mid-2020 to 70 in 2029) and double the number of Male CEOs in the same group who actively invest in gender diversity and inclusion.

Commented Shawn Till, EVP and CEO, North America, Bureau Veritas, "A diverse workplace achieved through an inclusive culture is an integral part of Bureau Veritas' identity. The Group has developed organically and through many different acquisitions with a richness of capability from drawing together people of diverse experiences and backgrounds including gender, age, ethnicity, etc. We are delighted to partner with Break the ceiling touch the sky®."

Colleen Lindholz, President, Kroger Health shared, "I'm proud of the role so many talented women leaders are playing to help businesses get back to growth despite the challenges of the pandemic. Together, we are driving change, creating opportunity, and defining a more innovative, inclusive future. In healthcare, we see it every day in the more than 2200 Kroger Health pharmacies and 220 clinics across the USA. We are proud to once again champion the cause at the 2022 North America Edition of Break the ceiling touch the sky and support Mission 2029 for a Better World."

Commented Julie Hamilton, Chief Commercial Officer, Diageo Plc, "The future is female. Research is indicating that women drive 70-80% of all consumer purchasing, through a combination of their buying power and influence. Given this reality, it is imperative we have more gender balanced leadership at the very top of organizations. At Diageo we believe that the fastest way to greater diversity at the top is to actively support greater opportunity for women to learn, grow and lead."

House of Rose Professional Pte. Ltd® is a global leader in the Talent, Training and Transformation businesses. The Company operates internationally via its registered brands Break the ceiling touch the sky®, Dream Job International® and CEOSmith®.

US President Joe Biden has sought a significant increase for funding in various sectors of the economy. The sectors include environmental protection, education, and healthcare. The president made this clear while outlining his first budget request to Congress. Under the proposals, the government seeks to have defense spending remaining mostly the same. The president also requested Congress to effect a 16% increase in funding cutting across several nondefense programs.

The president asked the US Congress to approve a whopping $1.5 trillion federal funding plan later in the year. The government sought to heavily invest in several government agencies, including education, public health, affordable housing, and climate change efforts. The proposals characterize Biden's first discretionary proposals. The proposals come before the total annual budget that the government intended to release later. The budget was expected to address several vital programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. President Biden's early blueprint seeks to have a 16% increase in overall funding, touching on general nondefense domestic agencies.

The proposals are a reflection of the administration's conviction that a better-resourced, bigger government in Washington can address the nation's most pressing economic and political challenges. Most of the programs the government seeks to fund at enhanced levels are initiatives former President Donald Trump had tried to slash while in power. Marking a bigger break with Trump, President Biden's newest plans seek to have under 2% military budgetary increase. In contrast, the former regime fought to spend a considerable slice of the total budget on military projects.

In 2021, the New York Times reported President Biden had proposed a $6 trillion budget; analysts noted this would catapult the US to the highest sustained federal spending levels since the Second World War. The president sought to fund a sweeping economic program that introduces new investments in transportation, education and climate change. The newspaper reported that the Biden administration had sought a rise in budgetary spending that would reach $8.1 trillion by the year 2031. Throughout the next decade, the deficits would run beyond $1.3 trillion.

The paper noted that such growth is driven by the president's plan to upgrade the national infrastructure and considerably expand the country's social safety net. The social program is contained in the government's American Families and American Jobs Plan. The government also planned to increase discretionary spending. The Biden administration's proposals for the fiscal year 2022 and beyond are a striking demonstration of the president's ambition to wield power and use it to help more citizens attain a middle-class standard of life. It also seeks to lift US industry to a position that would have it compete favorably in the global arena.

Analysts say that under President Biden's new spending proposals and levels of taxation proposals, the country's fiscal footprint would be raised to levels that were rarely experienced in the post-war era. But the president's men say this is necessary to fund investments that the government says are crucial to keep the US competitive in world affairs. The government seeks to have more money for roads, broadband internet, water pipes, advanced manufacturing research, and electric vehicle charging stations. The government also seeks increased funding for universal prekindergarten, a national paid leave program, and affordable child care. Predictably, most Republican lawmakers have opposed President Biden's new spending proposals. Significantly, although the new administration seeks to revamp military spending, the defense budget would actually decline as a percentage of the national budget.

The president said: "This is the time to build on the foundation we've already laid; it's the time to make some bold investments for the benefit of our families, communities, and nation. History teaches us that such investments can "raise the floor and ceiling of the national economy to every citizen's advantage." The administration planned to finance the big-government agenda by raising corporate taxes and taxing high earners. Hence, the budget deficits should shrink by the 2030s. Officials have also said the jobs and families plans would be offset by increased taxes in the next 15 years. The budget proposals anticipate such increases.

Analysts say it will be a steep challenge for democrats to attain such a high federal spending plan. This is especially true, keeping in mind that Democrats currently enjoy narrow minorities in both the House and the Senate. This means the objectives can only succeed if the Democrats collaborate with Republican lawmakers. The Republicans have continued to maintain filibuster power in both houses.

Wells Fargo was declared the largest US banking sector employer way back on 31st December 2020. The famous bank had more than 233,000 employees at that time. This was a little more than the number of all JP Morgan Chase employees. JP Morgan Chase is considered to be the US' largest bank. Overall, Wells Fargo is deemed to be the third-largest US bank (in terms of capitalization). It, however, has the highest number of branches, hence a higher number of employees. Notably, during the last decade, the number of FDIC-insured bank employees fluctuated considerably from 1.96 million in 2012 to 1.94 million in 2019. Nevertheless, there isn't a clear downward trend with regards to bank employment within the US. Analysts have, however, observed that the number of bank branches has declined steadily in the past few years.

As noted, the industries' big four are JPMorgan Chase, followed by Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup in that order. JPMorgan Chase holds a distinction as the world's leading bank. By July 2020, JPMorgan Chase had some 433.5 billion US dollars in market capitalization. Wells Fargo is said to be pushing back its office return schedule; regardless, banks like Huntington and US Bank stand pat. The twin city banks have already ventured to bring their employees back. Many of the largest banks have a majority of their workers back in the office. The San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, as well as the 18,000 employees based in Minnesota, are mostly working at home.

Recently the US Bancorp (based in Minneapolis) pushed its return to office schedule to a later date in the fourth quarter. The bank has 13,000 employees in Minneapolis and another 5,000 employees in the larger Minnesota. A spokesman said that- in the meantime- the bank's schedwouldwill remain as it is. On its part, the Bremer Financial Corp (based in St Paul) did not indicate when it plans to bring back the employees to the offices. Thus, the 800 corporate employees continue working remotely. In a statement, the bank's spokeswoman said: "We're still evaluating our position depending on the virus' incidence rate. We are- meanwhile- keeping our employee and customer safety as a top priority.

Huntington Bank, which now owns the TCF Bank, has maintained its current operating schedule in the meantime. A spokesman told the Business Journal that the bank's return to office plans had been put on hold. The bank hoped to revisit its timing later on. Huntington Bank has about 1600 employees working in the twin cities. During the last summer, employees of the Old National Bancorp were welcome back to work. But the company made it optional for those who preferred it. Further, the Associated Bank was expected to reopen the corporate offices and resume operations at the end of the year.

The bank's decision to resume full operations was reached with a keen consideration of the institution's established safety protocols. The management also considered factors like the availability of the Covid-19 vaccine. It intended to give an opportunity to employees who wished to benefit from a new, flexible work arrangement to seize it. The Associated Bank's senior public relations manager, Jennifer Kaminsky, said that a small percentage of the company's employees would, however, continue to work remotely.

Also, Bridgewater Bank announced that it had some 95% of the employees reporting back to the office. The management said all its offices were 100% open; this includes the bank's corporate office. Jerry Baack, the President, and CEO of Bridgewater Bank, was speaking to news reporters from various media houses. The bank employs about 200 people. A spokesperson of Merchants Bank said that the institution had instructed most of the employees to return back to the office. A few others were still working remotely. This was according to the bank's president and CEO, Greg Evans.

The executive said: "At the moment, all the Merchants Bank employees who deal face-to-face with customers are back in their regular stations. Because of the surge and uncertainty that was previously associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of our shared-services personnel continued to work remotely for some time. We will allow a few vulnerable employees to continue working remotely," he concluded.

A spokesperson of BMO Harris said that a large percentage of the bank's employees had already returned to work and were stationed at various locations throughout the Covid-19 pandemic period. The bank said it would continue inviting employees to return to the office gradually throughout the rest of the calendar year.

The White House is bringing in 30 other countries to help fight ransomware attacks. Counter-Ransomware Initiative meetings to start this Oct 2021. It has become crucial to protect people and online businesses from cyber-attacks that often happen right under the nose. With more companies on the internet, it becomes harder to keep track of all private information. To cope up with this, you can hire an IT guru, an expert in cyber security matters, to do it for you. Of course, cyber security involves the protection of electronic information, mobile devices, computers, networks, and servers from external attacks.

It serves as a security gate that makes certain information is not accessed by unauthorized personnel. It's a problem that is not solved at once. Due to the increase in cybercrime, it's of great importance to have cyber security in businesses or personal life. Consider the following types of cyber security measures that any organization needs to implement if it has crucial businesses on the internet.

Application security: This cyber-security measure uses hardware and software to handle external threats that arise when developing an application. It's a must-have security measure that you adopt to protect your systems. Due to the use of networks, accessing and adopting a security measure is of great importance. Firewalls, encryption services, and antivirus programs are significant types of application security. It prevents any unauthorized access to the company systems.

Critical infrastructure security: This comprises a physical, cyber system that can be relied upon. Traffic lights, shopping centres, electricity, hospitals, and water purification are examples of critical infrastructure that need to be protected. Any organization with responsibility for critical infrastructure should fully understand the vulnerabilities and how to protect them. The security of this infrastructure is always of great importance to the well-being and safety of the whole society.

Network security: This is another measure of cyber security that is characterized by external threats of the network system by people with malicious intents. It ensures the security of the internal network by inhibiting unauthorized access to any system. Security teams usually use machine learning to monitor network security which detects and alerts them to threats and abnormal traffic. Implementation of procedures and policies is done regularly to prevent modification, exploitation, and unauthorized access to the network system. Logins, passwords, and application security need regular protection.

Cloud security is an improved software-based security tool that monitors and protects cloud resources data. The provider of such cyber security measures constantly creates and implements new security tools to ensure the company's data is secured. Many people believe the storage and control of data in a physical server are more secure. Still, it has been proved that accessibility matters more than control through cloud security. It's like a traditional data centre with minimal risk of security breaches but without the cost and time of maintaining enormous data facilities.

Internet of things security: This refers to various critical and non-critical physical systems such as printers, Wi-Fi routers, security cameras, televisions, and sensors. Consumer devices, analytics, data centres, networks connectors, and embedded systems; these are the primary technology of the internet of things market.

The devices are regularly sent in a state that offers no security; this makes them vulnerable to threats and poses a significant challenge to users. When a study was recently done, it was found that security is the most significant barrier to the adoption of great IoT devices. It was also seen that many businesses are willing to buy these devices if the security concerns are addressed. This makes vendors invest in studying the security challenges so that they can apply strategic resolutions.

Operational security is a measure that refers to the process of managing risk in all the internal securities. It usually employs numerous management officers as a backup strategy in case the data is compromised. To keep business and personal information secured, this security measure ensures the workers are well educated to practice it.

Overall, cyber security is a never-ending encounter that one should devise solutions to cope with in future. It reduces the loss and damage of security breaches when some critical infrastructures improve their cyber security posture. This is among the advantages your organization will enjoy when cyber security is introduced. Hence, the subject is so complex that one needs to acquire knowledge from different disciplines, including engineering, political science, information technology, organizational behaviour, and political science, to understand it.

These days cybercrime can take place in different forms in the digital environment. Such offences cause physical or mental harm or tarnish the victim's reputation; it's done using computer networks and services such as mobile networks and the internet. The crimes can be divided into two major groups: computer as a handle and as a target. Using a computer as a target requires specific high expertise to penetrate through the systems. Such things are not expected due to the coordination and expertise needed.

These crimes mainly depend on computer malware, viruses, and denial of service attacks. Using the computer as a tool does not need much expertise to commit since the attacker depends on human exploitation. They are often ubiquitous in society. The following are types of unethical cybersecurity crimes that use a computer- either as a tool or a target:

Cyberstalking and online harassment are usually seen on social media platforms in comments, posts, or direct messages sent using any channel. Cyberstalking is the type of harassment that focuses on a single person- with good or bad intentions. The cyber-stalker usually monitors the victim by looking at the relationship between their family members, colleagues, or employers to continue with the stalking activity. They threaten their victims to release personal information about them in the media, either in the form of pictures, videos, or audio. These crimes damage the victim's mental state where most of them end up committing suicide. To protect yourself against such cases, you should report to the relevant authority of the platform you are being stalked on; you can do this by using live chats, emails, or any other available means of communication.

Internet fraud is the process of asking people to send money by promising that their money will double within a short period- it's a major characteristic of fake investments companies. They mostly used to take place during the days of the traditional mail, faxes, and telephones- it has widely spread due to the modern internet services. How does it work? Typically, a person may be given a reward, after which a lengthy procedure is dictated to follow using an active account- this is where the bonus is to be deposited.

Once you follow those steps, any money in your report will be deducted without you knowing; sometimes, they may end up blocking it temporarily until you visit the service provider. Listing fake jobs and asking for money is another common fraud where one is asked to pay paperwork costs. To defend yourself against such tricks, think twice about what you are being told- find out if it's true or false. Don't trust people who call and offer you attractive deals and don't pay anything in advance.

A phishing scam is another attack that tricks unsuspecting users on social media platforms to give away their personal details. These crimes are done by impersonating trusted and popular products, by building websites and creating fake social media profiles to attract users. They produce look-alike sites that make it difficult to differentiate which is genuine and which isn't. The websites even have places where you can fill forms with your details to receive some supposed discount. From a business point of view, these scams try to imitate potential suppliers. To be secure from these kinds of scams, pay attention to verified social media accounts, domains, and names when browsing on the internet. The application of common sense is very vital against any scam.

Identity theft is like a phishing scam that exists in two forms. As a tool used to commit a crime, the criminals have improved their reach, making it easier to use due to the scope of the internet. The impersonation of a person characterizes it; the criminals promise not to do anything evil to anyone but aim to access your account and payment method that you may have saved on the website. By accessing your invoices and payment methods, they can purchase things on your behalf. The most inexpensive way of securing your identity online is by sharing little information about yourself. Always keep an eye on all online accounts activity and report anything that looks suspicious.

As you have seen, these crimes take place in many forms, which are not new and are becoming more widely spread with the spread of the internet. It's of great importance to keep in mind that these crimes happen in our personal and professional lives; therefore, you should always keep your eyes open to detect them well before they happen.

Whenever world leaders speak, who will not take heed? Yes, during the much- touted world energy Summit, the top six dealers in the industry spoke up. They assured us that by the turn of the year the overall cost of oil would stabilize and everyone would cheer up. Indeed, the leaders assured the world that the era of oil accidents and spillage is now truly over. Things would soon be great, the gurus authoritatively announced.

At the summit, some of the keynote speakers were brokers and leaders who are highly respected within and without the oil industry. These leaders did not mince words. They clearly indicated that the oil business and industry had gradually fallen back into a safe zone, which is marked by greater equalization. This news of stability in the oil sector was greeted with jubilation everywhere.

Further, the leaders indicated at the summit that higher interest rates were now less anticipated. They said that the world supply of oil would soon exceed the expectations in the following few months. Interestingly, most of the dealers who attended the summit seemed to agree with the overall position of the world business and industry leaders.

At the same time, experts in this matter noted that the only way for the oil business to stabilize well was to ensure the rebalancing of the essential elements of oil business was properly done. The world oil supply and demand levels would need to be properly equalized for everything to turn out well. Unless this was done, the leaders predicted that stakeholders should expect lots of instability going forward. They noted that the pattern of good tidings was, however, beginning to be clear.

The business participants, to illustrate their point, noted that the Brent raw petroleum, which is the benchmark universally, had already hit a high by producing oil worth $43.58 a barrel. It is interesting that the organizations that participated in this summit collectively exchange a daily supply of oil to care for the needs of approximately 1/5th of the world’s population. The gurus were confident that the two-year value breakdown was already well set on its way.

When contacted, some leading dealers expressed a guarded optimism about the evolving fate of the world oil industry. They said that unless something happened fast, the bad fortunes of the past years would soon be back. By the time the third quarter ended, they said, the world oil supply and demand would reach the much-sought-after intersection.

Who can blame these leaders for not being completely optimistic about the world’s economic fortunes and the oil economy in general? Notably, past optimism with regards to these matters were not vindicated in the final analysis. It would take quite a few days, months or years for the world fortunes to change drastically, against all expectations. Yes, the vagaries of the economic weather can never be overstated.

In this forum, the Mercuria CEO estimated that the average costs stood at under $30 per barrel as the year started. He said that this had boosted the world oil health, leading to greater venture reductions. The CEO explained that the fact that oil prices had already fallen to about $28 barrel was an indicator of better days ahead. He said that this was, indeed, a good sign for the fortunes of crude oil because the future costs typically fell faster than the present costs.

At the summit, the head of the Glencore Oil expressed a point of alert to all stakeholders. He said that the world supply and demand factors were expected to change in the next half of the trading calendar. Regardless, the refined stockpile of items were noted to have generously expanded ever since the costs started tumbling downwards, falling from the initial price $100 per barrel earlier in the year.

The CEO explained that it was necessary for things to improve within the industry. For this to happen, however, he reminded the stakeholders that an expansive stockpile of the commodity would have to be worked through but the signs did not seem to be good. A major battle lay ahead.

The world’s leading autonomous dealer told participants at the summit that the business sector was fast moving towards a superior level of parity. Further, he said, the world’s top makers of the product would probably discover the consent to halt the yield in the following few weeks of the summit.

Today, we are blessed with plenty of new technological advancements that were a pipedream just a few decades back. But, as you may guess, new technology inevitably comes with risks and curses. Just look at the recent high-profile ransomware attacks by REvil group hitting one million systems resulting in the largest-ever ransom demand of $70 million. In fact, we need to understand the risks that come with the blessings of modern technology. Get ready, it will not take long before you start dealing with big challenges that come with the advent of new technological advances.

For instance, you must be aware of the frightening term ‘malware.' However, are you also familiar with the term ‘ransomware'? Well, this is a kind of malicious software that is used to encrypt data on a computer or smartphone.

What next? What if those who designed this technology suddenly demanded a ransom before you could regain access to your computer, smartphone, tablet or other device? Isn't such a prospect frightening? Well, you are not just reading some entertaining fiction here. No. This has already happened.

In 2015, a report by the Intel security showed that the incidences and rate of installations of ransomware were taking alarming dimensions. The rates had frighteningly increased by a whopping 26% in just 12 months leading to the release of that report.

How much does this smart racket rake in for the clever culprits? The FBI reported that the criminal gangs that initiate ransomware attacks were raking in a whopping $150 million every year from their dirty game. The FBI said that there were at least six million known attempts to install such malware on several computer systems spread across the world.

The report by the FBI did not, however, give an estimate on the overall value of the damage suffered by victims. Notably, most attacks by the ransomware racket involve not only a ransom demand but also real threats of damage or data leaks if the victims failed to pay up. What kind of threats were spewed out in the attempt to extort money from innocent victims in the cyber space?

If you are a respectable business owner, for instance, the racketeers would threaten that if you failed to pay the money demanded within a certain time frame, they would viciously send adult messages to all your customers, thus ruining your business. Alternatively, they would send graphic pornographic material to all your friends, relatives and acquaintances. Lately, the criminals are seemingly able to do this using innocent Microsoft word documents.

Why is this crime steadily growing? This practice is escalating because the software used by the gangs can be obtained easily online. Moreover, it is cheap. Further, the practice has been boosted by the entry of bitcoin payment into the fray. Why? You can pay the criminals while they remain incognito. This is because bitcoin payments are essentially so; the one receiving the money remains anonymous and virtually untraceable. This situation has helped not only the malware peddlers but also several other forms of cybercrime.

Who are generally targeted? Well, the so-called ‘soft targets'. These are typically small network or individual computers with relatively low levels of protection. In simple terms, these are vulnerable targets. Often, these kind of businesses don't even have protection in form of a firewall. But there is some good news in relation to this. You can easily get an effective protection for your computer to deal with such potential or real threats. What can you do about this immediately?

Simple. Carry out a backup of your whole computer system at least once every three months. As a suggestion, you can do this every month for a business computer. You can do this every three months if you are dealing with a personal computer. In case a ransomware attack occurs suddenly, it will become easy to deal with it. All you have to do is restore your computer immediately by means of such a backup. Doing this, you will defeat the ransom schemes instantly. At this point, the threats are rendered impotent. You, however, need to take further steps and do more to enjoy complete protection.

Make sure you report such subtle or direct attacks to the authorities. Unless they get informed of what goes on, they will have little chance to either catch the criminals or develop systems and issue advisories on how the criminals work.

Make sure to use a reputable software for antivirus besides installing a firewall. You can easily defeat incoming malware and ransomware just by putting in place these two systems. You may also purchase cyber insurance for business to deal with these kinds of cybercrime.

You probably know about epilepsy and the devastation associated with it. May be you are even a victim. There is, however, some good news hovering around the corners. Researchers are currently working on new efforts to predict the cause of these seizures. Moreover, new technology is progressively being developed on ways to predict the seizures. The team is led by some leading researchers from a top tech company.

The researchers are working closely together with neurologists and experts from leading centers. These experts aim to come up with a unique computer system that works more like an artificial brain. The computer will, however, be programmed to carry out are a real human brain analysis.

The new software application is intended to make an interpretation of the human brain waves using a neural network. In this process, the proprietary computer hardware will analyze the brain waves of a patient. It is thought that this will become possible when the brain waves are channeled into the neural network. Of course, such efforts require much coordination to become a success.

The technology utilized in these endeavors is an experimental chip that was developed by IBM. It is called the TrueNorth. The device is designed with the kind of architecture that mirrors the human brain. For this reason, it is able to accomplish an efficient neural network.

The researchers work by connecting the computer chip to an external computer. This, in turn, connects to a wearable device that works together with a brain implant. The implant further sends an EEG-type of information to the computer or the wearable device. Finally, the computer will use this data in predicting exactly when an epileptic seizure is expected to happen.

Notably, the researchers want the new system to be available soon on a wearable device. This would help them carry out efficient analysis in real time. Further, they said that they only way for this technology to have a significant impact beyond existing on paper is to have the device working efficiently to help users.

It is expected that the new device will have the capacity to detect oncoming seizure. This will alert the patient and the doctors by means of a connecting smart phone. Moreover, the researchers expect to use the data obtained from these earlier studies on special implants. They hope to understand more about the underlying mechanisms of the brain activity in the course of a seizure.

It is the hope of researchers that this newly gathered information will help them refine the device to the extent that it can be used to stop the seizures altogether, well before they occur. The lead researcher, Stefan Harrer added that the device is expected to work in place of a malfunctioning brain. In effect, the computer would be compensating for the deficiencies of the brain. This is what will, ultimately, enable the device to stop the seizure.

Regardless, the researchers have encountered plenty of challenges on the road to making these new discoveries. For instance, from the onset, it has been a problem for the scientists to extract meaningful information from the noise generated by a patient’s brain. To do this, they have to find a means to detect a specific pattern of seizure for individual patients. Well, this has so far eluded them. They, however, say that they are inching closer to this every day.

For many people, the whole thing sounds much like a scene out of a science fiction movie. In reality, it seems that this is far beyond a mere unreality.

To illustrate, for a long time neurologists working from the University of Melbourne have been conducting studies involving less complex readings obtained from EEG implants attached to selected epilepsy patients. These studies have gone on for more than three years. Indeed, Harrer merely joined up with the team to make a success of their efforts.

Ultimately, the long term goal of these endeavors is that one day they will be able to connect an artificial network of neural to a live human body. Of course, this might happen many years in future. The researchers, however, believe that, not only will this become a reality, it must happen.

Squarespace, Inc. (the "Company"), the all-in-one website building and ecommerce platform that enables millions to build a brand and transact with their customers in an impactful and beautiful online presence, today issued guidance for its second quarter ending June 30, 2021 and for the full year ending December 31, 2021.

Financial Outlook - For the second quarter of fiscal year 2021, the Company currently expects: Revenue of $186 million to $189 million, representing year-over-year growth of 24% to 26%. Non-GAAP unlevered free cash flow (uFCF) of $10 million to $13 million. This is the result of: Cash flow from operating activities of $10.6 million to $14.0 million (which includes approximately $32 million of one-time expenses related to the Company's direct listing) minus. Capital expenditures, expected in the range of $2.6 million to $3.2 million; plus. Cash paid for interest expense net of associated tax benefit, expected in the range of $2.0 million to $2.2 million.

For the full fiscal year 2021, the Company currently expects:

Revenue of $764 million to $776 million, representing year-over-year growth of 23% to 25%. Non-GAAP unlevered free cash flow (uFCF) of $100 million to $115 million. This is the result of: Cash flow from operating activities of $111.0 million to $128.8 million (which includes approximately $35 million of one-time expenses related to the Company's direct listing) minus. Capital expenditures, expected in the range of $19.4 million to $23.7 million; plus. Cash paid for interest expense net of associated tax benefit, expected in the range of $8.4 million to $9.9 million.

"After a strong first quarter 2021, we expect to see continued momentum in the business in the second quarter and for the remainder of the year. We believe that a beautiful and impactful online presence, and supporting entrepreneurs and creators with the ability to transact online, will help drive more unique subscriptions to our platform throughout 2021. Further, we believe the recent additions of new products will allow us to develop deeper relationships with our customers as they find more value in our all-in-one solution. Finally, we are excited about our recent acquisition of Tock, which provides us with the ability to better address the large hospitality opportunity by enabling restaurants to adapt and grow with new ways of transacting directly with their customers," said Marcela Martin, CFO of Squarespace.

Squarespace's revenue in Q1 grew 31% versus the prior year. Squarespace derives revenue from monthly and annual subscriptions and non-subscription services. Subscription revenue accounted for 94% of its total revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2021. Revenue is further categorized as either Presence or Commerce depending on the nature of the service provided to the customer. Presence revenue primarily consists of fixed-fee subscriptions to the Company's plans that offer core platform functionalities. Additionally, presence revenue consists of fixed-fee subscriptions to third-party software solutions, fixed-fee subscriptions to social media stories, and domain managed services. Presence revenue of approximately $133 million grew approximately 20% in three months ended March 31, 2021 versus the prior year. Commerce revenue primarily consists of fixed-fee subscriptions to the Company's commerce plans, non-subscription revenue derived from revenue share arrangements with commerce partners, and transaction fees earned on sales made through customers' sites. Commerce revenue of approximately $47 million grew approximately 78% in the three months ended March 31, 2021 versus the prior year.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's future operating results and financial position, including for its second fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2021 and its fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. The words "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "potential," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "could," "would," "project," "plan," "target," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations, assumptions, and projections based on information available at the time the statements were made. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including risks and uncertainties related to: the Company's ability to attract and retain customers and expand their use of its platform; the Company's ability to improve and enhance the functionality, performance, reliability, design, security and scalability of its solutions; the Company's ability to compete successfully against current and future competitors; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company; the Company's ability to protect or promote its brand; the Company's ability to generate new customers through its marketing and selling activities; the Company's ability to hire, integrate and retain its personnel; the reliability, security and performance of the Company's software; the Company's ability to adapt to changes to technologies used in its platform or new versions or upgrades of operating systems and internet browsers; the Company's compliance with privacy and data protection laws and regulations as well as contractual privacy and data protection obligations; and risks associated with international sales and the use of the Company's platform in various countries. It is not possible for the Company's management to predict all risks, nor can it assess the impact of all factors on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements the Company may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, the Company's actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Further information on risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from forecasted results are included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") including its Form S-1/A filed on May 3, 2021 with the SEC. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons if actual results differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.

About Squarespace

Squarespace is a leading all-in-one website building and ecommerce platform that enables millions to build a brand and transact with their customers in an impactful and beautiful online presence. Our suite of products enables anyone at any stage of their journey to manage their projects and businesses through websites, domains, ecommerce, marketing tools, and scheduling, along with tools for managing a social media presence with Unfold and hospitality business management via Tock. Squarespace democratizes access to best-in-class design, helping our customers in approximately 180 countries maintain consistent branding across all digital touchpoints to stand out online. Our team of more than 1,200 is headquartered in downtown New York City, with offices in Dublin, Ireland, Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles, California.

With unemployment rate 6.1% at everyone knows that, for decades, the US has fought the unemployment crisis viciously. The Obama administration bore the brunt of the blame in its last years in power. There were even some startling layoffs in the tech industry and, most surprisingly, in the military. Nevertheless, seemingly, the nation is fast recovering from the effects of this problem. The job market, in 2020, is slowly rising from the ashes. Arguably, more and more people are changing status from being unemployed to employed. However, no one should doubt that unemployment is still a major issue in America today.

What has caused all these troubles for the world's surviving superpower? Do not be deceived. None of this happened overnight. It has taken root gradually, stealthily and steadily. The economy slid to instability slowly, heading to unwanted areas. The prices of items have risen to an all-time high.

Without a doubt, the effects of inflation has confidently reared its ugly head, again. What is more, the US dollar has significantly lost value in the world financial markets. Even the cost of certain essential aspects of the economy has skyrocketed phenomenally. This includes the cost of accessing health care, education and property prices.

Have you heard about the academic Theory of Economic Cycle? This is the theory that helped predict financial market peaks and collapses in the past centuries. Of course, like with everything else, many believe in this theory. Many others don't. Regardless, basing on this, what are some academic predictions touching on the US in 2020 and beyond?

Well, the forecast is startling. It says that the US is hurtling towards one of the worst financial crises in history. Will this prove to be true? It is well known that the US, although considered one of the richest nations on earth, has a huge gap between the rich and the poor. If this report came true, how would it impact on the citizen's life? Indeed, what circumstances would precipitate such a crisis?

There is no sign that the ordinary man's income status or wages will go up anytime soon. Things are certainly not promising. The wages of most workers have remained stagnant rather than improve. It is interesting to note that the US economy and market has always been characterized by a consumer-based modus operandi. For this reason, the average consumer is always being encouraged to spend more.

What has been the overall effect of such an economic impetus? Well, the consumer, faithful to the hook, has always done exactly as prompted by the gurus of the national economic dynamics. Without disappointing, the consumers have always gone out of their way to spend everything; to the last coin. After all, have they not been encouraged to do so by those who know better? The experts have spoken. Who is the consumer not to follow suit and make the gurus proud? So, ‘spend more and more' has been the silent maxim followed by the ordinary consumer in the US. And this has gone on for decades.

The result? The average consumer has been increasingly forced to borrow more and more. The ordinary consumer is ever digging deeper into the pockets, even making use of credit facilities to fill the gaps that, predictably, come. What is the effect of such a situation?

Simple. The rich are getting richer. The poor are getting poorer. As the consumer spends more, rich investors, who manufacture the products loved by the consumer, will have more money thrust into his pocket. The rich will make more money. This monies are further invested in the manufacturing and other sectors. Soon, more goods will flood the market. The consumer gets excited. He borrows more money to get these dear goods. And the cycle continues.

Of course, this is typically how the gap between the rich and poor widens by the day. Yes, the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. This is a sad fact of life in modern America: 90% of the population has become a hapless victim of such a sorry state of affairs. The US economy is, therefore, currently overburdened with ballooning debt. As a result of inflation, more and more workers are being laid off from their jobs. There is an increased need to borrow more and more to fill this gap.

What is the ultimate result? Predictably, inflation will keep soaring. Interest rates will follow suit, also going up. There will, eventually, be less economic activity to hoist anyone out this sorry situation. We cannot deny the fact that this is the current situation in the country. Any denial of this won't solve the issue. Yes, again, economic decline and stagnation is certainly here with us.