As part of its commercial strategy, the companys CEO and senior management will virtually attend London Tech Week from September 1-11, together with international delegations of high-growth-potential technology companies.

() has been invited by the British Consulate-General Department for International Trade to attend and participate in the Virtual Trade Mission to London Tech Week 2020.

As part of the companys commercial strategy, CEOMohammad Choucair and senior management will attend London Tech Week virtually from September 1 to11 with international delegations of high-growth-potential technology companies.

London Tech Week is Europes most influential tech event showcasing the best in tech innovation from across the globeand in 2019 attracted a global audience of 58,000 attendees and an online reach of over 300 million.

Chief executive officerChoucair said: The Trade Mission to London Tech Week follows from our invitation to chair at the Quantum Tech conference this year, also in the UK.

"We are being acknowledged on the world stage due to our success and potential to make a positive impact in the quantum economy.

The focus of our 12CQ activities leading up to London Tech Week is around quantum control of the chip [qubit] components which we recently commenced the quantum in quantum computing.

We look forward to engaging with organisations in sectors that will be disrupted and enabled by quantum computing.

Archer aims to initiate strategic business relationships, identify upcoming opportunities and conduct virtual meetings with key decision-makers in the deep tech economy.

The curated program for delegates spans industries directly relevant to Archers 12CQ quantum computing chip including fintech, healthtech, smart citiesand AI.

12CQ is a world-first technology that Archer aims to build for quantum computing operation at room-temperature and integration onboard modern electronic devices.

In strengtheningthe commercial readiness of its 12CQ chip, the company has recently accomplished a number of achievements.

Archer has progressed patent applications internationally including in the EU, successfully begun assembling chip prototypes and has recently entered into a quantum computing agreement with IBM that supports the companys plans to use IBM's open-source framework, Qiskit, as the software stack for the12CQ chip.

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Archer Materials to showcase quantum technology during Virtual Trade Mission to London Tech Week - Proactive Investors Australia

For all practical intents, the United States is at war with China. This may come as a surprise since no bullets have been fired nor declarations made. Yet there is little question that, for over a decade, the Chinese government has engaged in a sustained campaign of cyber-enabled economic aggression against us and our allies. They have targeted our most productive economic sectors and are currently winning. But as we restart our economy after Covid-19, we have a unique opportunity to shift this fight decisively back in our favor.

At the heart of this conflict is a series of grand economic competitions across key industries, including telecommunications, advanced computing, robotics, energy generation, resource extraction, aerospace, and the medical sciences, to name just a few. We are currently facing off with China on 5G technology, machine learning, quantum computing, nuclear and solar power, satellites, rare earth metals, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals. Fundamental to the Chinese strategy for winning in each of these areasand many moreis the rampant theft of American intellectual property.

The Chinese playbook is deceptively simple: Why spend trillions of dollars on basic science or advanced research when it can be stolen with almost no penalties? The Chinese government is stunningly good at this theft. Not only do they employ thousands of government operatives to engage in this effort, a new federal indictment charges that they have fostered a criminal hacker class that works for its personal economic gain as well as for the Chinese state.

This brazen theft is not just limited to intellectual property. It also involves the pilfering of massive amounts of datafrom the likes of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Equifax, Marriott, and Anthemthat will fuel intelligence operations and train machine learning algorithms, generating economic and political gain for decades.

Chinese companies also look to acquire American technology through investment, acquisition, litigation, and bankruptcy, turning our own markets and courts against us. They masquerade as American companies while under the control of the Chinese government. Even worse, they take advantage of our companies looking to do business in China by extorting them into creating joint ventures, transferring intellectual property, and providing data to the Chinese Communist Party.

They likewise send students and researchers to our best research universities, all the while pressuring them to steal information for the Chinese state. The recent indictment of a Chinese military officer allegedly masquerading as a researcher at Stanford is but one such example. Chinese intelligence agencies likewise seek to co-opt American academics by providing grant funding for joint research projects and invitations to write for cash.

All of this economic warfare is directed at one key goal: to replace the United States as the global leader. Their agents do this by handing over the spoils of the state-run hacking and extortion campaign to Chinese companies which, in turn, exploit Chinese (and other) workers to make goods at reduced cost, selling them back to us and our allies, making us more reliant upon them.

Weve all now seen the price of this reliance in the difficulty many Americans face in getting medical gear and life-saving drugs. But our reliance is hardly limited to these goods. We also rely on China for all manner of finished goods and key inputs, the loss of which could grind our economy to a virtual halt overnight. Indeed, years ago, the Chinese created a plan to make us reliant on them in a dozen key areas. They now see Covid-19 as an opportunity to surge forward. But it need not be so. We have a chance, in this very moment of economic turmoil, to regain the edge.

First, the U.S. government must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our private sector to protect and push back. Just as the Chinese back their companies in competition with us, we must do the same for our industry. We should collect and share actionable threat intelligence and actively collaborate with the private sector to protect them through collective defense. We must also push back, using all elements of national power, to end the Chinese campaign of cyber-enabled economic warfare, including through the use of trade measures, sanctions, persistent cyber engagement, and, where necessary, more aggressive actions. We cannot allow trade deals or our desire for cheap Chinese goods to force us to sit on our hands, leaving our private sector alone to fight this war. Doing so means certain defeat.

Second, we must also work with our allies across the globe, including in the Indo-Pacific region, which the administration has identified as the single most consequential region for our future. Indias recent travails at Chinas hands should be a warning to all in the region and we must reject this aggression just as we have in the South China Sea. Likewise, having brought the British back on board on 5G, we must also now convince Germany to join this unified front. America need not stand alone. Making common cause with our longstanding allies is the right approach.

Finally, as we look to restart our economy, we must incentivize Americans to invest their money here and protect our innovation base. We must create tax and regulatory incentives that encourage investment in American companies struggling to survive and protect their intellectual property. These investors should be able to take advantage of low-cost capital to reorganize and reorient companies working on dual-use technologies to accelerate us into recovery and bring manufacturing and jobs back to the United States.

If we are to preserve this nation and remain a global leader, we cannot permit the continued theft of our childrens future right from under our noses. Now is the time to act.

Gen. (Ret) Keith B. Alexander is the former director of the National Security Agency and Founding Commander of United States Cyber Command, and currently serves as chairman, president and co-CEO of IronNet Cybersecurity, a start-up technology company focused on network threat analytics and collective defense and is on the Board of Advisors for the National Security Institute at George Mason Universitys Scalia Law School. Jamil N. Jaffer is the former chief counsel and senior advisor to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and served in senior national security roles in the George W. Bush Justice Department and White House, and currently serves as senior vice president for strategy, partnerships and corporate development at IronNet Cybersecurity and as the founder and executive director of NSI.

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China Is Waging Cyber-Enabled Economic War on the U.S. How to Fight Back. - Barron's

The National Science Foundation this week announced a five-year, $26 million initial grant to a consortium led by the University of Arizona to form a new Engineering Research Center, the Center for Quantum Networks (CQN), with partners at Harvard, Yale and MIT, among others, and including quantum networking researcher Don Towsley of the College of Information and Computer Sciences.

One of the centers goals is to develop quantum communications and the quantum internet, where bits of information are encoded in photons of infrared light, for example, instead of radio waves when beaming from a satellite. Once developed fully, quantum communication is expected to be more secure than existing systems.

Towsley says his role in the multi-institution team will be to co-lead one of three research thrusts focused on quantum network architecture. In addition to leadership responsibilities, Towsley will perform research on fundamental performance limits of quantum networks and on the right protocols to achieve these limits.

The University of Arizona leadership team says they hope the new CQN will lay the foundations for a quantum internetby transforming computing, communication and sensing on a new platform. It will connect quantum computers, data centers and gadgets using information states of quantum bits known asqubits. These will someday offer increased processing capacity over the classical data system. It now relies on data storage and processing in the 0 or 1 bit state, but qubits will allow superposition of both states at the same time.

The CQN also is charged with investigating the effects of a future quantum internet on education, workforce development, innovation and society. Organizers also say CQN has a mandate to develop not only the technology, but to address concurrent topics science, law, policy and society as they emerge, within a strong culture of inclusion. It will also emphasize engineering workforce development and include raising student awareness with curriculum and projects involving policy, law and society.

The new CQN will also create Master of Science programs in quantum information science and engineering, believed to be the first of its kind. Another major focus of the CQN team will be research to advance key underlying technologies, including fundamental quantum materials and devices, the quantum and classical processing required at a network node, and quantum network protocols and architectures.

Other universities involved are Brigham Young University, Howard University, Northern Arizona University and the universities of Chicago and Oregon.

Read more here:
Computer Scientist Don Towsley Named to Team Developing the Quantum Internet - UMass News and Media Relations

The globalQuantum Computing Marketis carefully researched in the report while largely concentrating on top players and their business tactics, geographical expansion, market segments, competitive landscape, manufacturing, and pricing and cost structures. Each section of the research study is specially prepared to explore key aspects of the global Quantum Computing market. For instance, the market dynamics section digs deep into the drivers, restraints, trends, and opportunities of the global Quantum Computing market. With qualitative and quantitative analysis, we help you with thorough and comprehensive research on the global Quantum Computing market. We have also focused on SWOT, PESTLE, and Porters Five Forces analyses of the global Quantum Computing market.

Leading players of the global Quantum Computing market are analyzed taking into account their market share, recent developments, new product launches, partnerships, mergers or acquisitions, and markets served. We also provide an exhaustive analysis of their product portfolios to explore the products and applications they concentrate on when operating in the global Quantum Computing market. Furthermore, the report offers two separate market forecasts one for the production side and another for the consumption side of the global Quantum Computing market. It also provides useful recommendations for new as well as established players of the global Quantum Computing market.

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Major Players: IBM Corporation, Google

Regions and Countries:U.S, Canada, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Rest of Europe, India, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Rest of APAC, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Rest of LATAM, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, UAE.

Report Objectives

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Table of Contents

Report Overview:It includes major players of the global Quantum Computing market covered in the research study, research scope, and Market segments by type, market segments by application, years considered for the research study, and objectives of the report.

Global Growth Trends:This section focuses on industry trends where market drivers and top market trends are shed light upon. It also provides growth rates of key producers operating in the global Quantum Computing market. Furthermore, it offers production and capacity analysis where marketing pricing trends, capacity, production, and production value of the global Quantum Computing market are discussed.

Market Share by Manufacturers:Here, the report provides details about revenue by manufacturers, production and capacity by manufacturers, price by manufacturers, expansion plans, mergers and acquisitions, and products, market entry dates, distribution, and market areas of key manufacturers.

Market Size by Type:This section concentrates on product type segments where production value market share, price, and production market share by product type are discussed.

Market Size by Application:Besides an overview of the global Quantum Computing market by application, it gives a study on the consumption in the global Quantum Computing market by application.

Production by Region:Here, the production value growth rate, production growth rate, import and export, and key players of each regional market are provided.

Consumption by Region:This section provides information on the consumption in each regional market studied in the report. The consumption is discussed on the basis of country, application, and product type.

Company Profiles:Almost all leading players of the global Quantum Computing market are profiled in this section. The analysts have provided information about their recent developments in the global Quantum Computing market, products, revenue, production, business, and company.

Market Forecast by Production:The production and production value forecasts included in this section are for the global Quantum Computing market as well as for key regional markets.

Market Forecast by Consumption:The consumption and consumption value forecasts included in this section are for the global Quantum Computing market as well as for key regional markets.

Value Chain and Sales Analysis:It deeply analyzes customers, distributors, sales channels, and value chain of the global Quantum Computing market.

Key Findings:This section gives a quick look at important findings of the research study.

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COVID-19 Impact on Quantum Computing Market Research, Growth, Industry Analysis, Size and Share 2025 | IBM Corporation, Google - My Kids Health

Quantum computing was named a breakout technology in 2017 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It showed up again on the list for 2020. Does that mean quantum computing is ready for prime time? Possibly. That is good news for the world, but the problem is few know what a quantum computer actually doesand investors dont know what quantum computing means for their portfolio.

Where to start? Microsoft (ticker: MSFT) is a large quantum player. And looking at its quantum business can help frame the issue for investorsand anyone else.

Its helpful to start a few steps back from Microsofts quantum aspirations.

Many people have heard of the quantum realm, thanks in large part to Walt Disneys (DIS) Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Avengers, after all, defeated Thanos in Avengers: Endgamethe highest-grossing film of all timewith the help of quantum tunnels. And the Guardians of the Galaxy navigated a quantum asteroid field in their latest stand-alone film.

In the quantum asteroid field, rocks popped in and out of existence. The idea being that in the quantum realm, almost anything is possible. Quantum has become an analogy for weird, counterintuitive outcomes.

Quantum physics does indeed dictate a bunch of weird things, including particlesnot the size of asteroidspopping in and out of existence.

Physicist Richard Feynman said once that all people need to know about quantum physics is the double-slit experiment.

In the experiment, a single electronwhich is a negatively-charged subatomic particlepasses through both slits at the same time. Very weird. But that is because particles have wavelike properties. A wave of water would hit both slits.

So an electron behaves like a wave. OK. But heres the thing, if someone watches the experiment unfoldputting a detector in front of the slitsthe electron stops acting like water. It goes back to being a particle. Weird.

That, curiously, has some benefits for a computer. In a traditional computer, a bitthe basic unit of computing powercan have a value of one or zero. A quantum bit, more commonly called a qubit, is the basic unit of quantum computing. It can have a value of one or zero or anything in betweenat the same time.

There are other things qubits can do, but multiple, simultaneous values makes quantum computers faster. A 64-bit computer can have roughly 18 quintillion (18 with 18 zeros) values. If a computer can do 2 billion values per second, it will take roughly 300 years to go through all potential values.

A 64-bit quantum computer can have, in theory, all 18 quintillion values at once. Go figure.

MIT put quantum computing back on its technology list in 2020 because a quantum computer with 53 qubits built by Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) did a calculation, in about three minutes, that would have taken a traditional computer 10,000 years.

Quantum supremacy was demonstrated. Great. So when will consumers be buying a quantum desktop, and when will investors be bidding up Alphabet stock on exploding quantum sales?

Not yet.

Qubits are not reliable yet. There is noise, Stephen Jordan, Microsoft quantum principal researcher, told Barrons. People are still working out the hardware. There are, for instance, superconducting qubits, trapped-ion qubits, and topological qubits.

Picking between qubits isnt like beta or VHS, or a Mac versus a PC. With todays computers underlying hardware is the same and 100% reliable, adds Jordan.

The industry is still working out the hardware. To reduce the noise, usually, you take qubits and string a bunch together to make a computing qubit, explains Helmut Katzgraber, Microsoft quantum principal research manager.

Microsoft, of course, is known for software. Maybe that means what the quantum computing industry needs is quantum Intel (INTC), pumping out the quantum equivalent of silicon chips with 1 billion transistors on them. (A transistor can store a bita one or zeroas information.)

For Katzgraber, the qubit hardware industry will be like FPGA, short for field programmable gate arrays, which are integrated circuits that can be configured into ASIC, short for application-specific integrated circuits.

Xilinx (XLNX) makes FPGAs. They get their supply from businesses like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), and Taiwan Semi gets silicon from a company like Lam Research (LCRX).

There is now a quantum value chain like that. Honeywell International (HON) can make trapped-ion qubits. That is probably as close as investors have to a quantum supplier at this point.

Hardware doesnt have to come before software and applications though.

We have gone through computer creation before, says Katzgraber. We are doing the whole stackthe software to the qubitsall at once.

That speeds development, but doesnt mean there will be a quantum smartphone soonor sooner than it took to go from mainframe to desktop, to laptop to iPhone. Quantum computing will probably look a little different. These [systems] will live in data centers in the cloud, adds Jordan.

Along with hardware comes apps. And a killer quantum app will help elevate the technology from MITs tech review to the nightly news. There are areas where the existing tech is having an impact. Julie Love, Microsoft quantum applications team leader, tells Barrons about several problems being addressed now from traffic light optimization to industrial catalyst for chemical production.

For now, big tech is big quantum. Google, Microsoft, IBM (IBM), and Amazon.com (AMZN) have quantum aspirations. Honeywell has its toes in quantum waters too. Its tough to buy any of those stock as a quantum investment yet.

Superconductor makers dont talk about quantum computing much in filings either. And superconducting is only a $2 billion industry at the moment.

Quantum computing remains a watch item for investorsalbeit an interesting one.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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Quantum Computing Explained for Investors - Barron's

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Global Quantum Information Processing Market 2025 Real Time Analysis & Forecast of COVID 19 Impact on Top Manufacturers: 1QB Information...

The United States (US) Department of Energy (DOE) has unveiled a report, on Jule 23, that lays out a blueprint strategy for the development of a national quantum internet, an Internet based on quantum computing technology that when implemented will be virtually unhacabled.

Notably, a system that communicates using quantum mechanics represents one of the most important technological frontiers of the 21st century. One of the distinctive feature of quantum transmissions is that they are exceedingly difficult to eavesdrop on as information passes between locations, making it (Quantum Internet) a virtually unhackable networks.

In February of this year, scientists from DOEs Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois, and the University of Chicago created a 52-mile (83-kilometer) quantum loop in the Chicago suburbs, successfully establishing one of the longest land-based quantum networks in the nation. That network will soon be connected to DOEs Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, establishing a three-node, 80-mile testbed.

The U.S. Department of Energy s 17 national laboratories will serve as the backbone of the coming quantum internet, which has initial government funding.

Scientists are also exploring how the quantum internet could expedite the exchange of vast amounts of data. If the components can be combined and scaled, society may be at the cusp of a breakthrough in data communication, according to the report.

Moreover, creating networks of ultra-sensitive quantum sensors could allow engineers to better monitor and predict earthquakesa longtime and elusive goalor to search for underground deposits of oil, gas, or minerals. Such sensors could also have applications in health care and imaging.

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The US Is Building Quantum Internet That'll Be Virtually Unhackable - IndianWeb2.com

There were lots of encouraging trends in the manufacturing PMI but the headline reading was revised down from the flash estimate, which seemed to hit market sentiment

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to a 16-month high of 53.3 in July, up from 50.1 in June.

The reading was a downward revision of the flash estimate of 53.6.

The headline PMI calculated as a weighted average of five sub-indices has posted above the neutral 50.0 mark that marks the crossover pointed between improvement and deterioration in each of the past two months.

New orders expanded for the first time since February, mainlyreflecting a strengthening of domestic demand, IHS/Markit said.

Manufacturing production was raised for the second successive month and to the greatest extent since November 2017.

Confidence rose to its highest since March 2018, with 62% of companies expecting production to be higher one year from now. Only 12% of firms forecast a contraction.

Manufacturing employment fell for the sixth month running in July, albeit to the least marked extent since March.

The recovery strengthened as a loosening of lockdown restrictions allowed manufacturers to restart or raise production. July also saw signs of furloughed employees returning to work and customers resuming spending. Business optimism also rose to its highest for over two years as companies grew more hopeful that the future has brightened, said IHS/Markit director, Rob Dobson.

"Despite the solid start to the recovery, the road left to travel remains long and precarious. An extended period of growth is still needed to fully recoup the ground lost in recent months. This is also the case for the labour market, where job losses are continuing despite businesses reopening. There is a significant risk of further redundancies and of furloughed workers not returning unless demand and confidence stage more substantial and long-lasting rebounds in the months ahead, Dobson warned.

Duncan Brock, the group director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), said the makers were on the march again in July, although the employment situation remained bleak.

Driven largely by demand from the domestic market, clients looked towards building more localised supplier bases as opportunities for trade were unblocked with the end of the UKs lockdown; however, overseas customers failed to deliver any positive news. Export orders fell for the ninth month in a row, exposing the ongoing fragility of the broken global marketplace due to the pandemic, Brock said.

The FTSE 100 was virtually unchanged when the PMI was released; it is now down 17 points (0.3%) at 5,881.

Haunted by trade worries and coronavirus (COVID-19) second wave fears, the FTSE 100 was given a further shove lower by the performance of shares of index heavyweight (), which fell almost 5% after the release of its latest results.

The index of UK blue-chip shares fell a worse-than-predicted 37 points to 5,860.89.

The Asia-focused bank saw its first-half profits slump 65% as COVID-19 wrought havoc on its usually robust finances. The performance was far worse than analysts feared as the group said it would be setting aside up to US$13bn to cover bad debts.

has done little to lift investors spirits as it brings the curtain down on what has been a costly half-year reporting season for banks in general, said Richard Hunter, an analyst at Interactive Investor.

Battered Rolls Royce () continued to take a pasting as it headed the Footsies list of losers. A recent debt rating downgrade and the poor outlook for international travel continued to dog the stock market fortunes of the jet engine maker.

Jitters set in among the investors of ITV () ahead of results later this week that are expected to bear the scars of the current economic turmoil.

The days star was IP Group (), the intellectual property group, which owns a near 16% stake in Oxford Nanopore, the maker of the new generation of COVID-19 tests being rolled out by the government. IPs shares soared almost 13%.

Applied Graphene Materials () said it has signedan exclusive agreement with Ohio-based Maroon Group to distribute its graphene coatings in theUS and Canada. The agreement also gives it a direct route into the coatings and polymers sectors in North America, Applied Graphene added. Maroon Group has distributed speciality chemicals and ingredients across both countries since it was formed in 1977.

Seeing Machines Ltd () saw its revenue, profit and cash all come in ahead of target for the year to end-June, 2020, and it is looking forward to the launch oftwo new vehicles featuring its technology in the coming months. Annual revenue is expected to be A$39.7mln, versus guidance of A$36.6mln and up around 24% on the previous year despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic on its core markets, while total income is expected to be A$42.6mln, up 30% on the previous period, the provider of driver monitoring systems said in a trading statement.

() () (OTCQB:NQMIY) said it has appointed international legal firm Hill Dickinson in London to prepare the necessary prospectus and documentation to have its shares traded on a tier-1 stock exchange. "Now that the company's annual accounts have been published, showing solid year on year revenue growth, the board of the company has determined that the company has reached a size and stage of development that it is appropriate to consider what other platforms and exchanges exist to position the company to take maximum advantage of the company's maturing operating status, said executive chairman David Lenigas in a statement.

() has said it is cautiously optimistic of hitting full-year targets after a first half that saw revenues rise 43% year-on-year. The cyber-security company acknowledged there is a lot of uncertainty over the outlook for the rest of the year, particularly with the probableending of employee furlough schemes, but said full-year results should be in line with market expectations if it can get a few major product bids over the line in the next few months and continue to convert its healthy prospects pipeline into sales. For the first six months of 2020, the company expects to report revenues of 674,000, up 18% on the first half of 2019.

() said the Oil and Gas Authority has given the green light to its acquisition of a 12.5% additional stake in the onshore licences that host the Wressle operation in Lincolnshire. It takes UJOs holding to 40%, providing 200 barrels of additional daily output if Wressle comes on stream at an initial rate of 500 barrels a day. Break-even at US$17.62 a barrel, Wresslewill be a significant money-spinner with oil trading at around US$40 a barrel.

() has welcomed the commencement of site works at the Wressle onshore oil field in Lincolnshire, which will usher in first production on schedule in the second half of the year. Operator () is currently overseeing the construction, which includes the installation of items such as a high-density polyethelene impermeable membrane, a French drain system and a surface water interceptor. Europa holds a 30% interest in the licences that host the operation, alongside Egdon (30%) and Union Jack Oil & Gas (40%).

() has revealed that it is investing US$15mln in Energy Link Infrastructure (Malta) Ltd, the company which owns the Alternative Crude Oil Evacuation System project. The ACOES is being constructed to provide a dedicated oil export route from the OML 18 asset, comprising a new pipeline from OML 18 and a floating storage and offloading vessel. Once commissioned, the system is expected to reduce the downtime and allocated pipeline losses currently associated with the Nembe Creek Trunk Line to below 10%.

() has submitted the Transmission Integration Study for the integrated 300MW coal-fired power project and coal mine that it plans to build in Tete, Mozambique to Electricidad de Moambique The study evaluated many transmission connection options for the project, taking into account current and planned changes to the network since the completion of the last study with EDM. "It's a fantastic step forward that we have submitted the final draft of the Transmission Integration Study to EDM for review, said Ncondezi chief executive Hanno Pengilly in a statement.

Bushveld Minerals Limited(), the integrated primary vanadium producer and energy storage provider, has revealed that its 84%-owned Enerox Holdings Ltd has acquired a further 65.1% of the share capital of Enerox GmbH. The investment is in line with the company's strategy of establishing a vanadium redux flow battery investment platform to lead investments in VRFB original equipment manufacturers with attractive upside potential. The Enerox battery product is one of the most widely deployed over the past 10 years, offering a unique value proposition in the industry.

(LON:TILS, ) said it plans to raise a gross US$57.25mln from US investors to fund work on three separate drug programmes. Just over 11mln new American depositary shares are being issued at US$5.20 each as part of the fundraiser, organised by ThinkEquity. The proceeds will be used advance the clinical development of Foralumab, its promising fully-human anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody.

() said it has raised 550,000 via a share placing. In a statement, the technology investor said part of the proceeds will be deployed to maintain its 13% stake in Dynasty eSports, which, separately, is about to embark on a 1.5mln (US$2mln) funding round. Cash will also be set aside additional working capital. The new shares, issued at 0.15p, come with a warrant attached, exercisable at 0.25p.

(), the London Stock Exchange AIM listed investor in natural resource opportunities, has noted that Southern Gold Ltd (), in which Metal Tiger owns an approximate 17.1% equity interest, has published an update about its Gubong and Kochang joint venture projects with Bluebird Merchant Ventures PLC (). Southern Gold said itis seeking to realise value from its 50% equity interests in the Gubong and Kochang projects in the Republic of Korea by offering them to joint venture partner().

Group PLC (), a provider of foreign exchange services, saw a significant increase in underlying earnings in its first year as a listed company. Profit before tax in the year to the end of March 2020, shot up to 10.2mln from 2.1mln the previous year on revenue that rose to 29.0mln from 21.9mln the year before as foreign exchange passing through the system topped 12bn up 32.3% year-on-year. Argentex revealed 380 new corporate clients traded during the period, lifting the number of active corporate clients to 1,212, up 12% on the previous year.

(LSE: ZOE), the London-listed vertically integrated CBD and natural resources company, has provided a further update on the sale of DTU and its Kansas nitrogen assets to Path Investments PLC as previously announced on May 27, 2020, and July 8, 2020. The group said the transaction has not yet completed due to matters beyond the company's and Path's control, but its board remains hopeful that matters will be concluded shortly. The company and Path have agreed to an extension to allow the transaction to complete., it added, and the delay has no material impact on the financial performance of the company.

PLC () (NASDAQ:VRNA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on respiratory diseases, has announced that David Zaccardelli, its chief executive officer and president, and Mark Hahn, its chief financial officer, will present a company overview at the following virtual investor conferences in August: BTIG Virtual Biotechnology Conference on Monday, August 10, 2020, at 2.30pm ET; Wedbush PacGrow Healthcare Virtual Conference on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, at 11.30am ET; and the 40th Annual Growth Conference on Thursday, August 13, 2020, at 4.30pm ET. A live webcast of each event will be available on the Events and Presentations link on the Investors page of the companys website - http://www.veronapharma.com - and an audio replay will be available there for 30 days.

OKYO Pharma LTD (), the life sciences and biotechnology company, focused on the discovery and development of novel molecules to treat inflammatory dry eye diseases and chronic pain, announced that its CEO, Kunwar Shailubhai shared insight into the companys development pipeline and upcoming milestones during an investor webinar, hosted by RedChip Companies, on Sunday, August 2, 2020. The investor webinar can be viewed at https://youtu.be/l8onUtOvSqQ.

The FTSE 100 looks set to open the new trading week in negative territory as coronavirus second wave fears and simmering Sino-American trade tensions continueto weigh on sentiment.

The index of UK blue-chip shares is expected to open its weekly account 13 points in deficit at 5,887.76.

Traders are unwilling to be swayed by the economic performance of China after the Caixin purchasing managers index revealed the manufacturing sector to be firmly in growth mode. The reading of 52.8 was well ahead of the 51.3 consensus number and above 50, which denotes expansion.

While encouraging, the worlds second-largest economy appears to be staging a v-shaped recovery, traders appeared fixated on Americas seeming inability to control the coronavirus (COVID-19)outbreak and flare-ups in previously only marginally affected areas, such as Victoria in Australia.

Washington, meanwhile, seems intent on reining in the influence of Chinese software firms.

Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, claimed the US government will clamp down on an array of Chinese state-controlled software companies, explained David Madden of CMC Markets. It is believed the move is motivated by concerns about national security.

Whether this will aid or hinder Microsofts potential acquisition of TikTok from ByteDance remains to be seen.

Closer to home, another busy week is in store on the corporate news front with updates expected from ITV (), () and BP ().

Weekend reports suggested the UK oil majors dividend may be headed for the chop with the company set to post a second-quarter loss of around 5.2bn.

Stocks in the Asia Pacific region are trading mixed today as US-China tensions continueto worry investors.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 surged 2.16% higher and in China, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.08%.

But the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped 0.95% and Australias S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.1% after the second-most populous state of Victoria declared a state of disaster on Sunday and imposed a nightly curfew for the capital Melbourne.

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Ltd () is targeting around $225 million per month in existing business-to-business payments volume from its customer network for conversion to its new Spenda platform.

() (FRA:E4N) has closed its non-renounceable pro-rata entitlement offer heavily oversubscribed, with the $3.56 million raised demonstrating strong support from the companys shareholders and endorsing the company's oro-mucosal drug delivery strategy.

s () () placement of 175 million shares at A$0.05 per share has been strongly oversubscribed by new and existing investors, raising A$8.75 million.

engage:BDR Ltd () is trading higher after recording a 36% increase in year-to-date revenue as of July 31, 2020.

() is advancing its Republic of Korea patent application for 12CQ quantum computing chip technology IP with the bid now undergoing substantive examination procedures.

() has been as much as 28% higher after completing stage two production of high purity alumina (HPA) from its pilot plant facility in Welshpool, Western Australia.

() has embarked on a capital raising exercise and intends to raise up to approximately $1,255,625 in a non-renounceable pro-rata entitlement offer and up to $300,000 in an options offer.

() has completed pump testing of a water production bore within a shallow (6-16 metre depth) aquifer at the Butcherbird Manganese Project in WA, confirming sufficient process water supply for planned production.

() continued to make progress against its IPO goals, finishing its June 2020 quarter with record appointment volumes and the expansion of its Real World Evidence technology platform beyond cannabinoids.

() is focused on expanding the resource base and life-of-mine at its Cape Ray Gold Project in Newfoundland, Canada as the June quarter comes to a close.

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FTSE 100 set to make a subdued start to week with second wave worries, trade war concerns weighing - Proactive Investors UK

Gold rose on Friday to hit a new all-time high of US$1,970.81 per ounce as a sliding dollar and dire economic numbers sparked a rush to safety.

S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) is marginally up 0.08% to 5933 points at 12.30 pm as financial and consumer discretionary sectors suffered losses but mining and health stocks helped the index keep its head above water.

Limited () (+1.84%), BHP Group Ltd (ASX:BHP) (+1.44%) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX:RIO) (+1.13%) all gained more than 1% while National Australia Bank Ltd () was down 3.28% and Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd () dipped 3.56%.

Victorians are preparing for extreme new restrictions affecting businesses to be announced today, as another 429 COVID-19 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours.

Premier Daniel Andrews has declared a state of disaster and imposed stage four restrictions, which include a daily curfew from 8pm to 5am for Melbourne residents until at least September 13.

White House coronavirus task force leader Dr Deborah Birx said widespread COVID-19 infections in urban and rural America mark a new phase for the pandemic as she doubled down on calls to wear face masks and observe social distancing measures.

Birx said on CNN: What we are seeing today is different from March and April. It is extraordinarily widespread.

The US has the worlds biggest number of COVID-19 cases at 4.6 million, or one-quarter of the total, and 154,361 deaths.

Todays top gainers on the ASX include () (+15.15%), Engage:BDR Ltd () (+14.29%), () (+7.50%), () (+4.88%) and (ASX:CPT) (+7.69%).

() is advancing its Republic of Korea patent application for 12CQ quantum computing chip technology IP with the bid now undergoing substantive examination procedures.

FYI Resources Ltd () has been as much as 28% higher after completing stage two production of high purity alumina (HPA) from its pilot plant facility in Welshpool, Western Australia.

() has embarked on a capital raising exercise and intends to raise up to approximately $1,255,625 in a non-renounceable pro-rata entitlement offer and up to $300,000 in an options offer.

Element 25 Ltd () has completed pump testing of a water production bore within a shallow (6-16 metre depth) aquifer at the Butcherbird Manganese Project in WA, confirming sufficient process water supply for planned production.

() continued to make progress against its IPO goals, finishing its June 2020 quarter with record appointment volumes and the expansion of its Real World Evidence technology platform beyond cannabinoids.

() is focused on expanding the resource base and life-of-mine at its Cape Ray Gold Project in Newfoundland, Canada as the June quarter comes to a close.

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S&P/ASX 200 keeps head above water as mining and health stocks trade higher - Proactive Investors Australia

Scientists from the University of Virginia School of Medicine have built an algorithm that may shed crucial light on genetic diseases, as well as help physicians and medical experts to rapidly diagnose them. And it could be a game-changer once someone actually builds a computer powerful enough to run it, that is.

The algorithm in question is one that is designed to analyze genomic data. It can be used to determine whether a test sample comes from a person with a disease or a healthy control and to do this significantly faster than current conventional computers.

Hand holding DNA tube

[Our] algorithm classifies a person as having a disease or not based on the occurrence of genetic variations in the persons genome, Stefan Bekiranov, associate professor at UVA, told Digital Trends. In principle, it could be applied to predict a patients genetic predisposition to disease as well.

Imagine, for instance, that a middle-aged patient with memory loss goes into a clinic. Their physician and family are worried about possible early-onset Alzheimers disease. The patient has blood drawn, and DNA and RNA are extracted and sequenced. Then they wait. And wait.

Today, this process could take weeks or even months before an answer is reached. But using the new algorithm developed by UVA researchers, the process which involves scanning enormous genomic, cellular databases to make the necessary predictions could be successfully completed in a matter of hours.

So whats the roadblock? After all, the great thing about todays over-the-air updates and constantly tweaked, cloud-based algorithms (Google alone rolls out some 500 to 600 changes to its search algorithm every year) is that they can be deployed rapidly. The problem with the UVA algorithm, however, is that it cant be called into action just yet because the computer thats optimally equipped to run it doesnt yet exist.

Thats because its an algorithm designed for a quantum computer: A class of next-generation supercomputers currently in their relative infancy. Unlike a classical computer, which encodes information as a series of ones and zeroes, quantum computer bits (called qubits) can be either a one, a zero, or both simultaneously. These qubits are composed of subatomic particles, which conform to the rules of quantum, instead of classical, mechanics.

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The hope with quantum computers is that they will be able to carry out operations mind-bogglingly quickly. This is because their superposition property (in which quantum particles exist in multiple overlapping states at the same time) allows a quantum computers qubits to take multiple guesses at a time when solving problems. That is far superior to classical computings time-consuming, trial-and-error computations which can take just one guess at a time.

Because of their problem-solving speed, quantum computers could be highly significant for difficult challenges like cryptography and particle physics. In both of these cases, quantum computers promise to help solve enormous computational conundrums in a fraction of the time of their classical counterparts. But this work the first published quantum computer study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and, possibly, the first using a universal quantum computer funded by the National Institutes of Health shows how quantum computers could also prove useful in fields like biochemistry and molecular genetics.

Our study serves as a marker that interest in quantum computing is expanding, even while its still in a nascent stage of development, Bekiranov said.

The UVA algorithm has been tested on IBMs quantum computers. The full algorithm in principle can be run on existing quantum computers. But the problem is that it can only run on a toy problem, not a real one with close to the complexity that would be required in the real world.

Bekiranov noted that there are a number of current roadblocks to the algorithm being used. For starters, the quantum logic gates (the basic quantum circuit that operates on a small number of qubits) do not perform the operations with perfect fidelity, resulting in errors in the measured results and even in the predictions. The number of qubits on even the most powerful quantum computer is also severely stunted at present. This limits the researchers to low genomic resolution. In addition, asking the quantum computer to perform too many gate operations causes the quantum state to decohere in the middle of computation, thereby destroying it.

Finally, Bekiranov said, and this is going to seem crazy, [but] it can take a complex set of gate operations just to input our data into the quantum computer. In fact, depending on the data, it can require so many gates to implement that it can negate the advantage of our quantum algorithm.

While that might seem disappointing, however, he noted that with sufficient steady progress and critical scientific breakthroughs along the way, a quantum computer able to run this properly could be here within a decade. Think of it like building an amazing app for an iPhone that wont ship until 2030. Sure, no one can run it right now, but the wait will be worth it when it finally arrives.

Just put groundbreaking genetic diagnosis tools down as one more reason to be excited about the coming quantum computing revolution.

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This algorithm could revolutionize disease diagnosis, but we cant use it yet - Yahoo! Voices