ME NewsWire/ Business Wire

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Wednesday, May 14th 2014

Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE/Euronext Paris: PM) welcomes today’s release of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, ‘Tobacco’s Hidden Children,’ which sheds light on child labor and other labor abuses on tobacco farms in Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee.

“This report uncovers serious child labor abuses that should not occur on any farm, anywhere. Human Rights Watch acknowledges the work PMI has done to address these issues through our Agricultural Labor Practices (ALP) global program to reach nearly half a million smallholder farmers. However more work remains to be done to eliminate child and other labor abuses in tobacco growing,” said Chief Executive Officer André Calantzopoulos. “We are grateful to Human Rights Watch for bringing these issues to light, recognizing the steps we have made to constructively engag ... Read more »

COLOMBES, France - Wednesday, May 14th 2014 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE) Oberthur Technologies, a world leader in digital security solutions for the mobility space and Telefónica Germany, one of the leading MNOs in Germany, today announced massive deliveries of OT’s MultiSIM for O2 in Germany.

OT developed the MultiSIM form factor and adjusted it according to Telefónica Germany requirements. From now on, O2 customers do not need to worry anymore, as their new SIM card will fit into any mobile phone. If they want to change from one form factor to another, they do not need to ask their operator for a new SIM card, but can just deplug their MultiSIM.

Since the introduction of the 4FF Form Factor, there has been a clearly communicated demand for an all-in-one form factor solution from Telefónica Germany. Development in OT started immediately and when the first prototypes were available, Telefónica Germany and OT worked closely together in order to implemen ... Read more »

LUGANO, Switzerland - Thursday, May 15th 2014 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The BARC Institute and the International Controller Association (ICV) have interviewed the planning methods and tools of over 400 companies from all sectors for one the largest studies of this kind, The Planning Survey 14. The survey concludes that the merging of strategic, financial and operational planning as well as the integration of planning with other performance management processes offer huge potential for optimization.

Particular need for improvement is seen in regard to the use of software: 71 percent of respondents stated that their planning process was covered with several different tools; 86 percent cited Microsoft Excel as their solely or jointly used planning solution. “The study results show that planning processes that are supported with Excel stand-alone or a combination of different tools are more likely to have problems and take significantly longer. Having the pla ... Read more »

Acquisition Will Bolster Quintiles’ Expertise in Health-Information Analytics Services and Create Foundation for Expanded Services Suite

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. - Tuesday, May 13th 2014 [ME NewsWire]

 (BUSINESS WIRE) As part of its continued efforts to strengthen and expand its service capabilities across the healthcare continuum, Quintiles today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Encore Health Resources (Encore). Encore is a leader in the health-information analytics and technology services industry focused on healthcare providers. Through its consulting services and solutions, Encore assists customers with a wide range of strategy, advisory, implementation, process-redesign, optimization, analytics and performance-improvement initiatives.

Founded in 2009, Encore has more than 300 employees located throughout North America, including approximately 250 consultants. Its primary business is focused on implementation and advisor ... Read more »

ME Newswire / Businesswire

BONN, Germany & NEW YORK - Tuesday, May 13th 2014

Today, International Carrier Sales & Solutions (ICSS), the international wholesale division of Deutsche Telekom AG, revealed the launch of a new point of presence (PoP) in New York.

Strategically located on the eastern coast of the United States, the New York PoP provides worldwide connectivity to key partners in North and South America.

As part of the core network, it completes the ICSS’s Next Generation Voice international (NGVi) platform. The New York gateway also ensures faster and more reliable quality for intra-American termination. It also meets the highest technological requirements currently on the US market, since it already runs on the Internet Protocol (IP) network standard.

Integrated IP networks are an essential element in the strategy of Deutsche Telekom – the new IP PoP in New York and the next generation voice platform are importan ... Read more »