STAMFORD, Conn.-Tuesday, April 10th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] (BUSINESS WIRE) -- USD $3 Billion US settlement: In January 2018, Petrobras announced that in connection with the losses investors suffered from the Lava Jato bribery scandal, it had agreed to a USD $3 Billion settlement with investors who purchased Petrobras Common or Preferred American Depository Shares (ADS) and certain bonds in the U.S. The court has preliminarily approved the proposed settlement. The deadline to submit a claim in the U.S. case is set for June 9, 2018. International Litigation and Settlement Initiative in the Netherlands: Separately, litigation efforts conducted by Stichting Petrobras Compensation Foundation against Petrobras continue in the Netherlands on behalf of investors who also suffered billions of dollars in losses in Petrobras common shares (PETR3) and Petrobras preferred shares (PETR4), which are listed on BM&F Bovespa, as well as Petrobras bonds that were sold outside of the U.S. The next hearing ... Read more »

Doha, Qatar.-Tuesday, April 10th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] QNB Group, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, announced its results for the three months ended 31 March 2018. For the three months ended 31 March 2018, Net Profit reached QAR3.4 billion (USD0.9 billion), up by 7% compared to previous year. Total assets increased by 12% from March 2017 to reach QAR834 billion (USD229 billion), the highest ever achieved by the Group. Key driver of growth in total assets was from loans and advances which grew by 12% to reach QAR598 billion (USD164 billion). Also QNB Group was successful in attracting funding, which resulted in increased customer funding by 12% to reach QAR604 billion (USD166 billion). This enabled the Group to maintain its loans to deposits ratio at 99%. The Group’s prudent cost control policy and strong revenue generating capability helped to improve the efficiency ratio (cost to income ratio) to 27.8%, which is considered one of the best ... Read more »

TALLINN, Estonia-Tuesday, April 10th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Estonian Centre for Defence Investment (ECDI) has awarded a public contract to a consortium of the Estonian Defence and Security Industry Innovation Cluster to launch a project entitled ‘Automated systems on the battlefield’, managed by the Centre for Applied Studies at the Estonian National Defence College (ENDC). “The aim of the project is to assess how unmanned and automated systems could contribute to our combat power and how we can measure the impact of these new systems on combat power. To achieve this, we will run a number of field experiments and tests in collaboration with the 2nd Infantry Brigade units,” said Lt. Col. Sten Allik, Chief of the Centre for Applied Studies at the ENDC. In collaboration with the Estonian Defence and Security Industry Innovation Cluster consortium, the project will test various unmanned ground and aerial platforms and the risks related to the exchanges of data, and ... Read more »

NEUCHATEL, Switzerland-Tuesday, April 10th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Swiss Advanced Vision (SAV-IOL) has announced the launch of Project R-TASC, set to disrupt the global intraocular lens (IOL) market. Cataracts are responsible for 51% of world blindness, which represents about 35 million people. A growing global market, IOLs are projected to reach 4.56 billion USD by 2022 from estimated 3.50 billion in 2017, at a CAGR of 5.4%. Driving this market growth is an ageing population, rising prevalence of eye diseases and diabetes across the globe, and government initiatives to control and treat blindness caused by cataracts. However, despite the market size, there has been few noticeable innovations in IOLs. SAV-IOL is developing an entirely novel approach to IOLs. R-TASC (Real-Time Autofocus Servo Control) is an active lens with real-time autofocus and wireless connectivity. All current lenses are fixed and suffer from optical compromises, such as light distribution, resolu ... Read more »

IDEAL Combine and Valtra A4 Series Tractors Recognized for Outstanding Design DULUTH, Ga. -Monday, April 9th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] (BUSINESS WIRE)-- AGCO (NYSE: AGCO), a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery and solutions, has been awarded two Red Dot Design Awards for its IDEAL Combine and the Valtra A4 Series Tractors. The Red Dot Design competition is one of the largest and most respected design competitions in the world. More than 6,300 submissions from 59 countries entered this year's contest and were evaluated by a jury consisting of 40 independent design experts from around the globe. “We are very honored to receive the Red Dot Design Award,” said Martin Richenhagen, Chairman, President & CEO, AGCO Corporation. “This recognition underlines our commitment to design, innovation and quality.” The IDEAL combine and the Valtra A4 Series were both recognized in the category ‘Commercial Vehicles.’ IDEAL is a newly developed combine that ... Read more »