For all the fears around teens and screens, the most square-eyed generation is the elderly. The digitisation of old age is a good thing—but there are some costs to consider https://t.co/6fs6EMiC1f ...

Core Points - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz aims to enhance the competitiveness of Germany's economy through measures focused on reducing bureaucracy and leveraging AI and digitization [1] - The German government has shifted from fiscal discipline to a half-trillion-euro infrastructure and defense package to stimulate growth, addressing the economic contraction experienced over the past two years [2] - A study indicated that excessive bureaucracy costs Germany nearly 150 billion euros ($175.94 billion) annually in lost economic output [2] Group 1: Modernization Agenda - The "modernisation agenda" outlines 23 key projects designed to improve daily life for citizens, including a centralized online vehicle registration service and a platform for rapid company formation [3] - The agenda includes plans to expedite the recognition of foreign medical qualifications and establish a digital agency to facilitate the immigration and integration of skilled workers [4] - Reducing bureaucratic requirements by 25% could result in savings of 16 billion euros ($18.77 billion) over the coming years [4] Group 2: Legislative Proposals and Initiatives - The cabinet plans to introduce several legislative proposals this month to pass through the upper house of parliament before its last session in December [5] - A plan to construct a nuclear fusion reactor in Germany has been approved, with an allocation of 1.7 billion euros in funding [5] - A draft law aimed at accelerating hydrogen infrastructure development by reducing bureaucracy has also received approval [5]

Financial Performance - Total Revenue was $3,037.2 million, a decrease of 1.5% compared to HY24[11] - EBITDA increased by 2.8% to $252.6 million, with an EBITDA margin of 8.3%, up 0.3 percentage points from HY24[11, 12] - NPATA increased by 11.9% to $119.4 million[8, 13] - Cash conversion ratio increased to 93.2%, up from 87.3% in HY22 and 2.5 percentage points from HY24[8, 11] Growth and Pipeline - Work in Hand increased by 19.4% to $20.6 billion[8, 14, 17] - Strategic wins in HY25 amounted to $4.3 billion, up from $1.5 billion in HY24[17] Shareholder Returns - Interim dividend declared was 10.71 cents per share, an increase of 43.4% compared to HY22[8] - $82.5 million of capital was returned to shareholders through an on-market buyback in HY25[8, 54] - The buyback target was increased to $150 million[43, 54] Outlook - Upgraded FY25 guidance forecasts NPATA growth of 10-12%[8, 78] - The company has secured approximately $3.2 billion of new work with nbn in the past 6 months[71]

“This is the digitisation of astronomy.” William O’Mullane explains why @VRubinObs will transform the practice of astronomy forever, on “Babbage” https://t.co/QuGZccYVLI ...