David Fisher

NAPCO Security Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: NSSC), one of the world’s leading solutions providers and manufacturers of high-technology electronic intrusion security, connected home, video and fire systems, as well as enterprise-class access control and door locking products, announced today that Craig Szmania will be joining NAPCO’s Intrusion, Fire & Life Safety Division as the Vice President of Sales. Szmania will be responsible for supporting existing dealer relationships, managing new customer acquisition efforts, driving demand for iBridge connected home technology, and reinforcing NAPCO’s leading position in residential and commercial intrusion and fire products.

Reporting to Jorge Hevia, SVP of Sales and Marketing, Szmania will help spearhead the sales activities of the NAPCO Intrusion, Fire, & Life Safety Division, leverage strategic partnerships with firms in adjacent verticals, and give special focus to exciting new products and programs, including the NAPCO Gemini Commercial Fire & Intrusion Platform, iBridge Connected Home Dealer Program & StarLink Radio 3G/4G product line.  Szmania’s extensive and successful security industry experience, including his most recent position as Distribution Business Leader for United Technologies’ Access Control, Fire, Video, and Intrusion Systems Division, will immediately bolster the NAPCO sales team in its efforts to increase sales and achieve a more profitable product mix.

“We are pleased to have Craig on board,” said NAPCO CEO and Chairman Richard Soloway. “Craig has a reputation for driving considerable sales growth at his previous organizations. Both his leadership and innovative, strategic approach to security system sales will be a perfect fit at NAPCO, where pioneering and excellence are preeminent touchstones.”

Tens of thousands of leading security dealers, systems integrators, and locksmiths rely on NAPCO and its industry leading technology to protect their customers.  With more than 10 million systems and over 100 million functioning devices installed in residential and commercial buildings across 40 countries, NAPCO is the industry’s only publicly held ‘pure play’ security company, with 100% of revenues coming from alarms, access control, locking systems, and software services.

China Ceramics Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ Global Market: CCCL) (“China Ceramics” or the “Company”), a leading Chinese manufacturer of ceramic tiles used for exterior siding and for interior flooring and design in residential and commercial buildings, today announced that it will hold its 2014 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”) at the Company’s principal executive offices in Jinjiang, Fujian, China, on December 17, 2014 at 8:15 a.m. ET. The Company’s shareholders of record as of November 10, 2014 will be eligible to vote at the 2014 Annual Meeting.

At the Annual Meeting, the Company’s shareholders will be asked to vote on a proposal to elect five directors to serve as members of the Board of Directors until the 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders or until their respective successors are duly appointed and qualified.  The nominees for election as directions at the Annual Meeting are Huang Jia Dong, Jianwei Liu, Cheng Yan Davis, Shen Chiang Liang and Su Wei Feng.  The Company’s shareholders will also be asked to ratify the appointment of Crowe Horwath (HK) CPA Limited as the Company’s independent auditors for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014.

China Ceramics’ shareholders who are able to can attend the Annual Meeting in person are welcome to do so.  Other shareholders will have the opportunity to listen to the Annual Meeting by dialing the toll-free number 1-844-822-0096; please dial-in to the call five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled time. Shareholders who do not attend the Annual Meeting in person will not be able to participate in the meeting over the phone. International callers should dial +1-970-315-0959. In order to connect to the listen-in mode, you will be required to provide the Call ID Number 27359141.

The Fusion Network, LLC today announced a new relationship with HomeStreet Bank, aWashington state-chartered savings bank with a network of 33 retail bank branches. HomeStreet Bank will now offer ClickSWITCH^TM, The Fusion Network’s industry leading automated account transfer solution.

“We are excited to announce the availability of this innovative service to our new and existing account holders,” said Paulette Lemon, HomeStreet Bank Senior Vice President and Retail Banking Director. “ClickSWITCH offers customers a fast and easy way to switch their automated payments and deposits. We believe this automation will give HomeStreet a competitive advantage in our markets.”

According to a recent Consumer’s Union study, one in five Americans would like to switch financial institutions. Yet, 59% of big bank consumers believe it’s “too much of a hassle” to switch, according to cg42. One of the main factors cited was the difficulty of switching their automated payments. The Fusion Network has resolved this problem by revolutionizing the switch process. With ClickSWITCH, HomeStreet Bank customers are able to switch their automated payments online with minimal data entry and track their switches, making the switch process transparent for consumers.

“We are excited to be working with HomeStreet Bank,” stated Michael Stromberg, Chief Technology Officer, The Fusion Network. “Bank customers will appreciate the fast and easy onboarding process we’ve developed, allowing customers to change banks without the previous inconveniences that hindered them.”

Baxter Corporation today announced it is investing $10 million to build a new facility inMississauga, Ontario for its Centralized Intravenous Admixing Pharmacy Service (CIVA).  Triple the size of the current facility, the new Baxter CIVA Pharmacy Service will expand Baxter’s ability to meet the needs of Canadian hospitals, clinics and other care facilities for ready-to-administer intravenous (IV) admixtures including chemotherapy, high alert medications and anti-infectives, enabling pharmacists to focus on more direct patient care and clinical activities.

Baxter’s new CIVA facility will double its number of clean rooms available to support customized requirements for hazardous and non-hazardous IV admixing and the company anticipates expanding the workforce by approximately 25 positions over the next few years.  Additionally, the new CIVA will include a new training facility through which Baxter will partner with professional organizations, academia, and hospital pharmacists and technicians to support their certification requirements and help maintain their skillset in IV admixing.  The company expects to open and transition operations to its new CIVA facility in October 2015.

“Pharmacy practice is a dynamic environment and since its inception Baxter CIVA has worked closely with healthcare partners to develop innovative solutions,” says Mike Oliver, President, Baxter Corporation.  “The new CIVA facility will triple its current size, helping to accommodate increasing and evolving customer needs for ready-to-administer medications and sharing best practices in IV admixing.  We are very excited about the journey ahead for CIVA and engaging with our partners about the value Baxter can provide as an extension of their pharmacy services.”

“I’m delighted that Baxter has chosen Ontario to continue their investment in high quality patient care services. Baxter has been a long-standing healthcare leader and innovation partner in Ontario, and our growing life sciences ecosystem and innovation agenda has greatly benefited from their leadership to date. This investment highlights the caliber of innovation investments that are being made in Ontario, and we congratulate Baxter on this recent achievement,” says Minister Brad Duguid, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure.

Baxter CIVA works with hospital pharmacies to help increase the IV admixing capacity of their in-house pharmacy without additional capital investment or headcount to provide specific therapies required for patient care while reducing drug waste and cost through extended shelf life and maximized use of each milligram across admixtures.  Baxter CIVA also helps organizations mitigate their risk through reduced staff exposure to hazardous cytotoxics such as chemotherapy drugs; and provides full traceability of all medications used in admixtures.  With tailored ordering and delivery schedules, Baxter CIVA also provides options of solutions which can be stored at room temperature to free up refrigerator space.

Reflecting Baxter’s desire to continuously elevate IV admixing practice, plans for the new CIVA facility feature state-of-the-art quality and regulatory design specifications, reflecting protocols, standards and best practices that Baxter has derived from its 28-years of Canadian expertise and globally from the company’s experience with compounding and admixing regulatory requirements established in other countries.  The new facility will also incorporate all new Canadian and international practice guidelines and standards from organizations such as the Institute of Safe Medication Practice (ISMP) and Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP).

Heavily-regulated industries such as healthcare and finance are seen as prime targets for disruption by marketplace innovators, according to a survey released today by Silicon Valley Bank. The Marketplace Disruption Survey found that just over half of participants said the healthcare and finance industries (25 percent and 26 percent, respectively) were most likely to see shakeups based on the online marketplace model.

The survey was conducted at Silicon Valley Bank’s Marketplace Mashup on October 14 in New York City. Nearly 100 marketplace founders, venture capital and private equity investors and industry veterans from around the world came together at the exclusive event. Participants included Airbnb, Uber, oDesk and Andreessen Horowitz, among many others. The Mashup is part of SVB’s effort to engage and connect founders and CEOs with industry visionaries on topics related to the future of the innovation economy.

“Marketplaces like Uber and Airbnb are so successful because their innovations addressed frustrating issues for consumers in industries that were desperate for change,” said Shai Goldman, Managing Director for Silicon Valley Bank in New York City and host of the one-day, invite-only event. “It’s no surprise that disruptive thinkers see significant opportunity within healthcare and finance marketplaces next. The trend toward new vertical marketplaces and expansion based on mobile adoption will continue to change how we access and consume these types of services.”

“Despite a fuzzy definition of the word ‘marketplace,’ and the variety of businesses that exist in this category, it is clear that they are going to increase in number. They’re resilient and antifragile,” said Marketplace panelist and Haystack Fund investor Semil Shah. “I see four types of businesses that could be classified as a marketplace: pure marketplaces connecting buyers and sellers directly, curated marketplaces that vet providers on the buyers’ behalf, businesses with marketplace dynamics like metered pricing, and marketplaces with subscription services. It’s an evolving area with serious growth potential, when you consider the large industries these companies could disrupt.”

The survey examined opportunities and hurdles that marketplace insiders see as they grow their businesses, finding that more than half (51 percent) of marketplace founders see balancing supply and demand as their greatest issue. Another 30 percent of respondents pointed to establishing trust with their users as an issue. Just seven percent of participants pointed to regulatory hurdles as a barrier to success and even fewer said that access to financing was an issue. Sixty-three percent of marketplace founders and executives do not plan to accept bitcoin, according to the respondents.

Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, today announced that its Oil Services business will exhibit at the 2014 Deepwater Operations Conference, booth 401, November 4-6, 2014, at Moody Gardens inGalveston, Texas.

Clariant Oil Services representatives will share details on recent developments to help improve deepwater production and reduce operational risk.

“Coupled with a global team and extensive network of resources, Clariant offers state-of-the-art offshore and deepwater technologies,” said Jonathan Wylde, Global Head of Clariant Oil Services Innovation. “We are excited to exhibit Clariant’s suite of solutions and capabilities, which help our customers improve production and reduce risk.”

The conference, which focuses on addressing operational challenges in developing deepwater resources, draws industry leaders, academia and government and will focus on economical and sustainable technologies and solutions to meet challenges faced by the oil services industry in the Gulf of Mexico and globally.

Clariant Oil Services will showcase its solutions for flow assurance, asset integrity and fluid separation, as well as its innovative anti-agglomerate technology for asphaltene inhibition.

Clariant is a globally leading specialty chemicals company, based in Muttenz near Basel/Switzerland. On December 31, 2013 the company employed a total workforce of 18,099. In the financial year 2013, Clariant recorded sales of CHF 6.076 billion for its continuing businesses. The company reports in four business areas: Care Chemicals, Catalysis & Energy, Natural Resources, and Plastics & Coatings. Clariant’s corporate strategy is based on five pillars: increase profitability, reposition portfolio, add value with sustainability, foster innovation and R&D, and intensify growth.

Clariant Oil Services is a leading provider of chemical technologies and services to the oil, pipeline and refinery industries. A global business with headquarters in Houston, Texas, Clariant Oil Services is represented in all major oil and gas locations. From deepwater exploration to refining, Clariant Oil Services provides chemical products and services designed to reduce customer costs, decrease operational risks and improve production efficiency.

Clariant Oil Services operates state-of-the-art R&D and applications laboratories in the United States, Scotland, Germany, Brazil andIndonesia, as well as an environmental testing laboratory in Norway. Clariant Oil Services’ industry experience is supported by a dedicated global technical services network, providing a unique position from which to address and resolve customer challenges anywhere in the world, now and in the future.