When SES was founded in 1985 as Société Européenne des Satellites, its impact on the future of the space and telecommunication sectors could not be measured; ever since its first satellite was launched in December 1988, the company’s growth went hand in hand with innovation and the ambition to establish a network of high-speed internet access around the globe. Today, SES is operating a fleet of 70 satellites. Broadcasting some 8,200 television and radio channels to over 355 million households, SES is the leading satellite operator in the world.
Civil Maps started in 2013 with a specific objective: finding a way to avoid head-on collisions between trains caused by challenging weather or human error. “In the United States, the authorities passed the Positive Train Control Enforcement and Implementation Act of 2015, mandating the ability to monitor all trains and know where each one was at any given moment,” says CEO Stefan Safko. “They had already collected large amounts of data but did not know how to transform it into useful information. We took their raw data and developed a method to create high-definition maps that allowed us to localise the trains and enable asset management.” FINGERPRINT BASE MAP™ TECHNOLOGY A meeting with the board of directors of one of the large US automotive manufacturers two years later encouraged the young company to look into applying its technology for localising …
Luxembourg is to get its first dedicated hydrogen refueling station within the next two years, but the government is pinning most of its hopes on wind and solar for cleaning up the energy sector.
“Big Four” auditing firm PwC’s Luxembourg branch will accept cryptocurrency payments from clients starting next month. The move, announced Monday, is a response to client demand and demonstrates PwC Luxembourg’s belief in blockchain technology’s “medium to long-term” role in the economy, the firm said. PwC Luxembourg said it partnered with a local exchange to facilitate the payments. It did not identify the exchange or say which coins it will accept. Taking crypto may help PwC serve its blockchain clients, by providing day-to-day insight into “AML/KYC-enhanced due diligence… public/private keys… and risks of custodial solutions,” said the Luxembourg office’s director of blockchain and crypto-assets, Thomas Campione, in a statement. PwC has been working with cryptocurrencies since 2014. Four hundred of its 250,000 worldwide employees work on “crypto-topics,” supported by a 100-member technical team devoted to blockchain. The firm’s Hong Kong office …
Lendable, a London-based fintech lender, has started its first Luxembourg-based fund, according to trade press reports. Credit Suisse will provide up to £225m in financing for the fund, Financial News reported on 21 August. “The fund, aimed at professional investors, will primarily invest in consumer loans originated by Lendable” in the UK, wrote Altfi. Lendable hopes to lend £150m “by early next year” year and £350m by the end of 2020, Altfi reported. The fund is open to Mifid professional investors, Rory McHugh, Lendable’s chief capital officer, stated on his Linkedin page. Altfi said the minimum investment was £2m. According to the business information site Crunchbase, Lendable has raised £1bn in funding, including £200bn in its latest round, its fifth, which was led by Goldman Sachs Private Capital. Lendable was founded in 2014 as a peer-to-peer lending platform.
"Everything is more expensive today, "prices have increased tenfold" - we've all heard statements along those lines, but is it true? According to data compiled by Statec spanning the years 2000-2019, prices have indeed gone up for a majority of products in the Grand Duchy. Naturally, the baskets of goods that Statec keeps an eye on includes far from everything available on the market. As is customary, they have focused on products that are commonly bought by households across the country, such as bread, milk, eggs, coffee, sugar, and so on. Bread is one of the products that have experienced a particularly noticeable price increase - from €1.1 in 2000, to €2.4 in 2019 (per 500g). The price of potatoes, meanwhile, has nearly tripled - from €3.6 to €9.1 for 5kg. Other products that have seen a significant price increase …
Markets are in the dark about one of the key monetary tools available to support the 19-nation economy. Mario Draghi's plans for a parting stimulus shot before he retires as European Central Bank president are laced with even more suspense than usual. While the ECB is widely expected to cut interest rates next month, the prospect of a renewed round of asset purchases is shrouded in uncertainty. Investors must judge how much quantitative easing the euro-zone economy needs, how much buying space the central bank has before it hits self-imposed limits – and whether policy makers will dare test Draghi's claim that he can bust through those restrictions if needed. That ambiguity means markets are in the dark about one of the key monetary tools available to support the 19-nation economy as it battles a slowdown wrought largely by external …
Two of the biggest space companies in the Grand Duchy have come together on a Safety at Sea project to help make the seas safer. Satellite companies Kleos Space and Spire Global will jointly create a service that will detect sea vessels operating illegally. The collaboration is expected to be live before the end of 2019 and will use data obtained by Kleos’ satellites to track vessels, whilst Spire will be able to produce images of them using its satellites. The companies will then be able to share the information with governments, maritime agencies and other bodies who need to detect illegal vessels. “The collaboration between Kleos and Spire will provide unprecedented detection of dark vessels,” Andy Bowyer, Kleos’ CEO, said. “The Safety at Sea collaboration will provide an effective tool for governments, maritime agencies and other organisations with an …