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One in Five European Companies Are Facing Strong Pressure to Transform to Stay Viable

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BCG Tracks More Than 2,000 Public European Companies, Identifying the Share Showing Signs of Operational Challenges and Financial Instability

BOSTON, June 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Running a business in Europe over the past few years has been no easy task. Amid challenging economic conditions, insolvency filings among European companies have risen by 11 percentage points since 2022.

Currently, about one in 5 European companies (21%) face strong pressure to transform because of weak operational performance or financial instability—an increase of 7 percentage points over 2023. For some European companies, the pressure is even stronger: roughly one in 15 (7%) have passed the need for a transformation and must now consider severe measures to restructure both their operations and their balance sheet.

These are among the findings of the BCG Transform and Special Situations (TSS) Index 2024 from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) titled “Why One in Five European Companies Needs to Transform.” The Index, which is being released today, examined the operational performance and financial stability of more than 2,000 public companies, with a focus on Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

“This is a wake-up call for business leaders in Europe,” says Jochen Schönfelder, the leader of BCG’s Transform practice in Central and Eastern Europe and a coauthor of the article. “Companies that are under extreme pressure cannot afford to wait for macroeconomic tailwinds to improve. Many will need to proactively transform or restructure to remain viable.”

AI Reveals Transformation and Restructuring Topics Are Gaining Momentum

BCG also utilized AI to examine companies’ narratives and surveyed more than 200 senior executives to determine their priorities for the year ahead. The AI-based sentiment analysis found that the frequency of transformation references in company statements and public filings jumped by 24 percentage points from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024. Mentions of restructuring increased by 16 percentage points for the same period.

The Most Impacted Countries and Sectors

Clear warning signs have appeared on the horizon for companies in certain countries. In the Nordics, roughly one in four companies (27%) face transformation pressure. In Germany and Austria, the number jumps to one in three (33%)—significantly above the European average.

Among sectors, the three facing the greatest pressure to change are real estate; technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT); and retail:

Real estate. This sector is showing the greatest need to change, given high interest rates, significant impairment risk, and high amounts of debt, with nearly 52% of companies facing pressure to transform—a rate that is more than two times higher than any other sector BCG analyzed. Sixteen percent of companies in this sector face restructuring pressure.Technology, media, and telecommunications. With inflationary pressures leading both households and enterprise customers to scale back their TMT budgets, 17% of companies in this sector are under pressure to transform and 20% are under pressure to restructure.Retail. As consumer confidence remains low, and retailers struggle to justify large networks of physical stores amid the continued shift to e-commerce, 20% of retail companies face transformation pressure and 17% face restructuring pressure.

“Knowing that you need to transform is only the first step,” says Renaud Montupet, a BCG managing director, a coauthor of the article, and the leader of the Special Situations unit for BCG’s Transform practice in Europe. “By taking proactive measures, companies can dramatically change their trajectory. In that way, they still control their destiny.”

Download the publication here:
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/why-one-in-five-european-companies-needs-to-transform

Media Contact:
Eric Gregoire
+1 617 850 3783
gregoire.eric@bcg.com

About Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholders—empowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact.

Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.

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SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

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Meet With Culture: Exquisite Craftsmanship of Traditional Chinese Architecture

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BEIJING, Dec. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Temple of Agriculture in Beijing played a significant role during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Over nearly 600 years, 25 emperors personally visited or sent ministers to perform spring farming ceremonies and offer sacrifices to Shennong, the god of agriculture.

 

Built in 1420 during the Yongle reign, the temple’s predecessor was the Temple of Mountains and Rivers in Nanjing. When Emperor Zhu Di moved the Ming capital to Beijing, he constructed a larger temple inspired by the Nanjing temple, which gradually evolved into the Temple of Agriculture.

The Taisui Hall, the largest building complex in the temple, now serves as a major exhibition hall of the Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum, showcasing models of classical Chinese buildings and demonstrating the solemnity of royal architecture.

Ancient Chinese architecture is predominantly wooden-structured, chosen for its availability, versatility, and earthquake resistance. Artisans developed sophisticated techniques in material selection and construction. The wooden framework consists of columns, beams, girders, and purlins, with innovative structural forms like lifting-beam and piercing-bracket structures.

A unique architectural element is the dougong (bracket sets), which supports weight and connects beam frames with column walls. Mortise-tenon joints were invented to create elastic frameworks by connecting different components.

While discussing the Temple of Agriculture, it’s worth noting another remarkable example of architectural hierarchy which could be found in the Temple of Heaven. The hierarchy of architectural designs reflected social stratification, with eave structures like the triple-layered eaves of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest representing the highest-level architectural design.

Over centuries, the Temple of Agriculture has transformed from an imperial garden to a public park and a museum for historical architecture, now standing as a significant cultural landmark that symbolizes China’s agricultural civilization and architectural heritage along Beijing’s Central Axis.

Quickly join Alexandre to study and explore the traditional Chinese architecture.
https://youtu.be/YpA03WiZ9Wc

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SOURCE China International Communications Group

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Second Opinion Expert Announces Filing of U.S. Patent for Method of Generating Medical Opinions Using Artificial Intelligence

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Patent leverages AI technology to improve patient outcomes and reduce cost of care

DANA POINT, Calif., Dec. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — SecondOpinionExpert, Inc. (SOE), a leading healthcare technology company, announced today that it has filed patent application 133902-0002UT01 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office entitled “Method and Apparatus for Generating Automated Medical Opinions Using Artificial Intelligence.” The patent covers the company’s proprietary system that communicates a medical opinion to a user based on a trained model that uses artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML).

“In the near future, we’ll launch our free app, enabling users to access high-quality medical opinions. This innovative app empowers individuals with insightful medical guidance that improves health and saves lives,” said Steve Krause, President of SecondOpinionExpert, Inc.”

Medical second opinions have traditionally been obtained by seeking out another healthcare professional who reviews the patient’s medical records, diagnoses, and tests. However, the rapidly increasing complexity of medical information, the demand for faster turnaround times, and the limitations of human expert availability have created a need for automated systems that utilize AI to generate both first and second medical opinions.

Artificial intelligence has made significant strides in medical diagnostics, including image recognition, predictive modeling, and natural language processing (NLP). These advancements present an opportunity to augment traditional second opinion systems by automatically processing patient medical records, diagnostic tests, and clinical data to generate high-quality first and second medical opinions.

SecondOpinionExpert’s technology increases the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery, improves healthcare access and empowers doctors and patients to make better informed medical decisions. The HIPAA-compliant patented platform leverages recent advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning and electronic medical record systems enabling the company to provide fast, reliable and secure online medical opinions. The system provides patients greater peace of mind by leveraging the power of AI and ML.

“Our patent-pending AI enabled technology platform provides a cost-effective choice that improves patient care,” said Steve Krause, President, SecondOpinionExpert, Inc. “In the near future, we look forward to launching our user-friendly app that will be initially free of charge. People using our platform will be able to quickly obtain high quality medical opinions while avoiding unnecessary travel time and expense, knowing that they will be getting insightful medical guidance that improves health and saves lives.”

About SecondOpinionExpert

SOE’s mission is to provide innovative medical technology solutions to improve healthcare while reducing costs.

Our patented HIPAA-compliant platform leverages recent advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning and electronic medical record systems, enabling the company to provide fast, reliable and secure online medical opinions to inform both diagnosis and treatment planning. We empower patients, providers and payors to work together to make the best possible medical decisions, leading to better health outcomes and greater peace of mind for patients. SOE’s panel of 400+ board-certified medical specialists are available to render expert opinions informed as needed by AI and genomics.

SOE also owns and/or manages a rapidly growing network of facilities for post-acute care and substance treatment. Our proprietary platform for Electronic Medical Records (EMR) empowers best practices in administration and medical services.

Our proprietary TeleMedics Mobile Platform empowers and chronicles on-site visits from qualified medics or nurses. Mobile staff provide the human connection, capturing vitals and doing diagnostics and therapeutics, with the patient’s doctor participating as needed through live video. We work with our affiliate Intra Care, Inc. to provide superior home health and hospice care. We provide Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) delivered through a strategic relationship with KangarooHealth, in-home respirators delivered and monitored by SOE affiliate Momentum Equipment and Pandemic Response through our MaxVax solution.

Additional information can be found at SOE.CARE

Media Contact

Jay Kilberg, Second Opinion Expert, Inc., 1 917.543.6285, jay.kilberg@soe.care, https://soe.care

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SOURCE Second Opinion Expert, Inc.

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The 6th “My China Story” International Short Video Competition Award Ceremony Held in Harbin

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HARBIN, China, Dec. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The 6th “My China Story” International Short Video Competition Award Ceremony was held in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province on December 19, 2024.

Du Zhanyuan, member of the Standing Committee of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and president of China International Communications Group, and He Liangjun, member of the Standing Committee of the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Heilongjiang Provincial Committee, addressed the ceremony respectively. Lan Feng, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Harbin Municipal Committee and director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Harbin Municipal Committee, attended the event. The ceremony was also attended by 300 other people from home and abroad, including Chinese and international video creators, experts, judges, and representatives from the publicity departments at different levels across the country, as well as representatives from various corporations.

For this year, the competition received a total of 59,559 videos from more than 130 countries and regions around the globe. After three rounds of strict comparison and appraisal by more than 30 professional Chinese and international judges from the fields of media, film and television, Internet, and international communication, 112 pieces of all videos finally won awards in different categories.

Heilongjiang, the northernmost and easternmost province of China, boasts a long history and rich culture. Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang Province, is famous for its local culture, music, art and architecture of Chinese and Western integrated styles as well as its openness and inclusiveness, making the city a unique source of inspiration to tell China stories to the world.

Under the theme of “Heaven of Ice and Snow, City of Charm and Vigor”, this year’s competition highlights the feature of the host city Harbin, attracting a lot of participants to make videos surrounding the topic. From the perspective of international creators, these short videos together present a dynamic Harbin and a charming Heilongjiang, as well as show a real China to the world.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-6th-my-china-story-international-short-video-competition-award-ceremony-held-in-harbin-302337936.html

SOURCE “My China Story” International Short Video Competition Organizing Committee

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