#multi-asset funds

[indvesting]

NFTs in India

NFTs in India: Explore the evolving digital assets landscape with Indvesting's insights. Visit: https://www.indvesting.com/

[hqkcapital]

Alternative Investment Fund Luxembourg

HQK Capital offers a Alternative Investment Fund Luxembourg for managing portfolios for corporate entities utilizing mutual funds and individual securities.

[personal-finance8]

100-Age Rule | Asset Allocation Rule

The ‘100 minus your age’ rule is another asset allocation rule. 100 minus your age gives you the percentage in equities with the balance going into low-risk bond assets.

For example, At age 30 you need 70% equity and 30% bonds. For age 50, equity comes out at 50% and bonds 50%.

The idea is that as you get older you move out of equities and into lower risk bonds. Advisors call this de-risking or life styling. Received wisdom is that in later life having a high proportion of equities creates a hazard to income, if the short term value of the portfolio suddenly moves up or down in value as a fund can’t recover.

[mutualfundexperts]

Quantum Multi Asset Fund of Funds for diversifying the risk & your portfolio

The Quantum Multi Asset Fund of Funds allows you to invest in 3 asset classes - Equities, Debt and Gold thus diversifying the risk & your portfolio.

[meret118]

A new report from Popular Democracy and the Institute for Policy Studies reveals how billionaire investors have become a major driver of the nationwide housing crisis. They summarize in their own words:

Billionaire-backed private equity firms worm their way into different segments of the housing market to extract ever-increasing rents and value from multi-family rental, single-family homes, and mobile home park communities.— Global billionaires purchase billions in U.S. real estate to diversify their asset holdings, driving the creation of luxury housing that functions as “safety deposit boxes in the sky.” Estimates of hidden wealth are as high as $36 trillion globally, with billions parked in U.S. land and housing markets. — Wealthy investors are acquiring property and holding units vacant, so that in many communities the number of vacant units greatly exceeds the number of unhoused people. Nationwide there are 16 million vacant homes: that is, 28 vacant homes for every unhoused person. — Billionaire investors are buying up a large segment of the short-term rental market, preventing local residents from living in these homes, in order to cash in on tourism. These are not small owners with one unit, but corporate owners with multiple properties. — Billionaire investors and corporate landlords are targeting communities of color and low-income residents, in particular, with rent increases, high rates of eviction, and unhealthy living conditions. What’s more, billionaire-owned private equity firms are investing in subsidized housing, enjoying tax breaks and public benefits, while raising rents and evicting low-income tenants from housing they are only required to keep affordable, temporarily.

. . .

Thirty-two percent is the magic threshold, according to research funded by the real estate listing company Zillow. When neighborhoods hit rent rates in excess of 32 percent of neighborhood income, homelessness explodes. And we’re seeing it play out right in front of us in cities across America because a handful of Wall Street billionaires are making a killing.

As the Zillow study notes:

“Across the country, the rent burden already exceeds the 32 percent [of median income] threshold in 100 of the 386 markets included in this analysis….”And wherever housing prices become more than three times annual income, homelessness stalks like the grim reaper.

That Zillow-funded study laid it out:

“This research demonstrates that the homeless population climbs faster when rent affordability — the share of income people spend on rent — crosses certain thresholds. In many areas beyond those thresholds, even modest rent increases can push thousands more Americans into homelessness.”This trend is massive.

. . .

As noted in a Wall Street Journal article titled “Meet Your New Landlord: Wall Street,” in just one suburb (Spring Hill) of Nashville:

“In all of Spring Hill, four firms … own nearly 700 houses … [which] amounts to about 5% of all the houses in town.”

This is the tiniest tip of the iceberg.

“On the first Tuesday of each month,” notes the Journal article about a similar phenomenon in Atlanta, investors “toted duffels stuffed with millions of dollars in cashier’s checks made out in various denominations so they wouldn’t have to interrupt their buying spree with trips to the bank…”

The same thing is happening in cities and suburbs all across America; agents for the billionaire investor goliaths use fine-tuned computer algorithms to sniff out houses they can turn into rental properties, making over-market and unbeatable cash bids often within minutes of a house hitting the market.

. . .

As the Bank of International Settlements summarized in a 2014 retrospective study of the years since the Reagan/Gingrich changes in banking and finance:

“We describe a Pareto frontier along which different levels of risk-taking map into different levels of welfare for the two parties, pitting Main Street against Wall Street. … We also show that financial innovation, asymmetric compensation schemes, concentration in the banking system, and bailout expectations enable or encourage greater risk-taking and allocate greater surplus to Wall Street at the expense of Main Street

.”It’s a fancy way of saying that billionaire-owned big banks and hedge funds have made trillions on housing while you and your community are becoming destitute.

. . .

Turns out it was Blackstone Group, now the world’s largest real estate investor run by a major Trump supporter. At the time they were buying $150 million worth of American houses every week, trying to spend over $10 billion. And that’s just a drop in the overall bucket.

As that new study from Popular Democracy and the Institute for Policy Studies found:

“[Billionaire Stephen Schwarzman’s] Blackstone is the largest corporate landlord in the world, with a vast and diversified real estate portfolio. It owns more than 300,000 residential units across the U.S., has $1 trillion in global assets, and nearly doubled its profits in 2021. “Blackstone owns 149,000 multi-family apartment units; 63,000 single-family homes; 70 mobile home parks with 13,000 lots through their subsidiary Treehouse Communities; and student housing, through American Campus Communities (144,300 beds in 205 properties as of 2022). Blackstone recently acquired 95,000 units of subsidized housing.”

In 2018, corporations and the billionaires that own or run them bought 1 out of every 10 homes sold in America, according to Dezember, noting that:

“Between 2006 and 2016, when the homeownership rate fell to its lowest level in fifty years, the number of renters grew by about a quarter.”

And it’s gotten worse every year since then.

. . .

Warren Buffett, KKR, and The Carlyle Group have all jumped into residential real estate, along with hundreds of smaller investment groups, and the National Home Rental Council has emerged as the industry’s premiere lobbying group, working to block rent control legislation and other efforts to control the industry.

As John Husing, the owner of Economics and Politics Inc., told The Tennessean newspaper:

“What you have are neighborhoods that are essentially unregulated apartment houses. It could be disastrous for the city.”

As Zillow found:

“The areas that are most vulnerable to rising rents, unaffordability, and poverty hold 15 percent of the U.S. population — and 47 percent of people experiencing homelessness.”

. . .

The loss of affordable homes also locks otherwise middle class families out of the traditional way wealth is accumulated — through home ownership: over 61% of all American middle-income family wealth is their home’s equity.

And as families are priced out of ownership and forced to rent, they become more vulnerable to homelessness.

Housing is one of the primary essentials of life. Nobody in America should be without it, and for society to work, housing costs must track incomes in a way that makes housing both available and affordable.

Singapore, Denmark, New Zealand, and parts of Canada have all put limits on billionaire, corporate, and foreign investment in housing, recognizing families’ residences as essential to life rather than purely a commodity. Multiple other countries are having that debate or moving to take similar actions as you read these words.

To address the housing shortage and bring down prices for renters and homeowners alike, the Harris campaign’s plan calls for a historic expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and the first-ever tax incentive for homebuilders who build starter homes sold to first-time homebuyers. Building upon the Biden-Harris administration’s proposed $20 billion innovation fund, the campaign proposes a $40 billion fund that would support local innovations in housing supply solutions, catalyze innovative methods of construction financing, and empower developers and homebuilders to design and build affordable homes.

To cut red tape and bring down housing costs, the plan calls for streamlining permitting processes and reviews, including for transit-oriented development and conversions. The agenda also proposes making certain federal lands eligible to be repurposed for affordable housing development. Collectively, these policy proposals seek to create 3 million homes in the next four years.

The campaign plan cites the Biden-Harris administration’s ongoing actions to support the lowest-income renters, including its actions to expand rental assistance for veterans and other low-income renters, increase housing supply for people experiencing homelessness, enforce fair housing laws, and hold corporate landlords accountable.

Building upon these commitments, the Harris agenda calls upon Congress to pass the “Stop Predatory Investing Act,” which would remove key tax benefits for major investors who acquire large numbers of single-family rental homes (see Memo, 7/17/23), and the “Preventing the Algorithmic Facilitation of Rental Housing Cartels Act,” which would crack down on algorithmic rent-setting software that enables price-fixing among corporate landlords.

To make homeownership attainable, Vice President Harris’s proposal would provide up to $25,000 in downpayment assistance for first-time homebuyers who have paid their rent on time for two years. First-generation homeowners – those whose parents did not own homes – would receive more generous assistance.

Vice President Harris’s economic agenda also includes proposals to lower grocery costs, lower the costs of prescription drugs and relieve medical debt, and cut taxes for workers and families with children. The plan would restore the American Rescue Plan’s expanded Child Tax Credit, which provided up to $3,600 per child for low- and middle-income families for one year before it expired in 2022, and would enact a new $6,000 tax credit for families in the first year after their child is born. These measures to reduce expenses and boost household income would also improve housing security for low-income families, who often face impossible tradeoffs between paying rent and affording food, medical care, and other basic needs.

-----

Sorry for the length, but I thought this was really important.

[literaticat]

Hi, Jenn. These recent children's imprints closings have been really sad. Is there anything we, as authors and readers, can do, aside from buying more children's/YA books?

No, and yes. No, you aren't going to stop corporate mergers. Yes, you CAN help the book industry more generally!

While some books are just straight up bestsellers that do not need your help to thrive, I'd say 90% of books and authors are hurting for attention, tbh -- and that probably includes some of your favorites. Media is so fractured / silo'ed and people are so distracted, discoverability is a huge challenge for authors.

So yes by all means please DO buy books! Give them as gifts! Pass them out to your friends! And enemies! But also: TALK ABOUT THEM! Start a book club! If you are on a budget? Use your library! Request titles they don't have! (For ebooks and audiobooks, too! Check out OverDrive and Libby!) Write reviews of books you love, or talk them up on social media!

(To paraphrase RuPaul: If we bookworms don't buy and read and talk about books, how in the hell can we expect anyone else to? CAN I GET AN AMEN UP IN HERE?)

ALL THAT BEING SAID: Imprints being bought/sold/closed etc has little to do with individual readers. Your buying three extra copies of your fav book is not going to affect an international multi-million/BILLION dollar corporation merging or divesting assets or whatever -- those kinds of decisions are above our pay grade as authors / readers / the general public! (Anyway, a publisher may be sold not because it ISN'T doing well and the owner is trying to get rid of it -- but because it is doing VERY well and a larger company wants it! Or for some other reason, something something shareholders, who knows!)

Think about it this way: You throwing your water bottle in the correct bin is good, but it's not going to stop climate change. CORPORATIONS need to stop it, GOVERNMENTS need to stop it -- your individual contribution is nice, by all means keep reducing, reusing, recycling, but it isn't YOU that is the real problem or the solution, actually. You can help not make it worse! You can rally for change and join groups and encourage corporations to make that change with your voice, your votes, etc. You can bring attention to it in whatever ways you are able! But it's not up to you as an individual to actually do the heavy part of the world-saving.

In much the same way: Getting more people to buy more books is actually a much bigger problem than your buying an extra paperback or tweeting alone can solve. It has to do in part with changing the CULTURE, with figuring out how to get all of our attention spans back, with getting kids to pick up books for fun instead of their phones, with valuing education, etc.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, IMO, the publishing industry and authors and everyone else in the country, quite frankly, would be greatly helped by investing more in teachers and libraries rather than de-funding and criminalizing them, with stopping the book banning madness that is happening, and with PLEASE GOD not letting "Project 2025" become a reality! So if you are concerned with any of these issues, do make the changes in your own life, and do use your voice, your VOTES, whatever you can do to bring attention to the issues -- join and support advocacy groups like Authors Against Book Bans, donate, yell about it! But ultimately it's going to have to be the government, and monied and powerful major entities (including corporations... like publishers!) that are going to have to step up to REALLY enact change. What you can do is show them by word and deed that you WANT that change.

[headcansxfanfictions]

Q. Why doesn’t the Padokean Government take down the Zoldyck’s?

Answer:

The Zoldyck’s must have connections within the government and I’m sure are hired by the government often. They probably have conditions (like not killing Padokean officials) that they meet so a blind eye is turned.

The Zoldyck’s seem like a very aristocratic family that has had huge influence over the government for generations. Though unofficially involved in the government, everyone kinda knows they have that kind of power.

Its like when Rockefeller and other Multi-Billionaires funded the USA government’s actions during the gilded age before the financial power of businesses were regulated.

The Republic of Padokea is probably perfectly happy to have the most dangerous family of assassins on their side and probably does anything to keep it that way.

Keep in mind that because the HxH story focuses on those that can use nen we often loose perspective of just how rare these skilled nen users are actually are. The average person doesn’t even know nen exists. In the scope of the world nen users are extremely rare and a family of powerful nen users is a huge asset for a nation.

[usafphantom2]

B-2 Stealth Bomber Demoes QUICKSINK Low Cost Maritime Strike Capability During RIMPAC 2024

The U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit carried out a QUICKSINK demonstration during the second SINKEX (Sinking Exercise) of RIMPAC 2024. This marks the very first time a B-2 Spirit has been publicly reported to test this anti-ship capability.

David Cenciotti

B-2 QUICKSINK

File photo of a B-2 Spirit (Image credit: Howard German / The Aviationist)

RIMPAC 2024, the 29th in the series since 1971, sees the involvement of 29 nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, over 150 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel. During the drills, two long-planned live-fire sinking exercises (SINKEXs) led to the sinking of two decommissioned ships: USS Dubuque (LPD 8), sunk on July 11, 2024; and the USS Tarawa (LHA 1), sunk on July 19. Both were sunk in waters 15,000 feet deep, located over 50 nautical miles off the northern coast of Kauai, Hawaii.

SINKEXs are training exercises in which decommissioned naval vessels are used as targets. These exercises allow participating forces to practice and demonstrate their capabilities in live-fire scenarios providing a unique and realistic training environment that cannot be replicated through simulations or other training methods.

RIMPAC 2024’s SINKEXs allowed units from Australia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, South Korea, and various U.S. military branches, including the Air Force, Army, and Navy, to enhance their skills and tactics as well as validate targeting, and live firing capabilities against surface ships at sea. They also helped improve the ability of partner nations to plan, communicate, and execute complex maritime operations, including precision and long-range strikes.

LRASM

During the sinking of the ex-Tarawa, a U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet deployed a Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM). This advanced, stealthy cruise missile offers multi-service, multi-platform, and multi-mission capabilities for offensive anti-surface warfare and is currently deployed from U.S. Navy F/A-18 and U.S. Air Force B-1B aircraft.

The AGM-158C LRASM, based on the AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile – Extended Range (JASSM-ER), is the new low-observable anti-ship cruise missile developed by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. NAVAIR describes the weapon as a defined near-term solution for the Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (OASuW) air-launch capability gap that will provide flexible, long-range, advanced, anti-surface capability against high-threat maritime targets.

QUICKSINK

Remarkably, in a collaborative effort with the U.S. Navy, a U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber also took part in the second SINKEX, demonstrating a low-cost, air-delivered method for neutralizing surface vessels using the QUICKSINK. Funded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the QUICKSINK experiment aims to provide cost-effective solutions to quickly neutralize maritime threats over vast ocean areas, showcasing the flexibility of the joint force.

The Quicksink initiative, in collaboration with the U.S. Navy, is designed to offer innovative solutions for swiftly neutralizing stationary or moving maritime targets at a low cost, showcasing the adaptability of joint military operations for future combat scenarios. “Quicksink is distinctive as it brings new capabilities to both current and future Department of Defense weapon systems, offering combatant commanders and national leaders fresh methods to counter maritime threats,” explained Kirk Herzog, the program manager at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

Traditionally, enemy ships are targeted using submarine-launched heavyweight torpedoes, which, while effective, come with high costs and limited deployment capabilities among naval assets. “Heavyweight torpedoes are efficient at sinking large ships but are expensive and deployed by a limited number of naval platforms,” stated Maj. Andrew Swanson, division chief of Advanced Programs at the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron. “Quicksink provides a cost-effective and agile alternative that could be used by a majority of Air Force combat aircraft, thereby expanding the options available to combatant commanders and warfighters.”

Regarding weapon guidance, the QUICKSINK kit combines a GBU-31/B Joint Direct Attack Munition’s existing GPS-assisted inertial navigation system (INS) guidance in the tail with a new radar seeker installed on the nose combined with an IIR (Imaging Infra-Red) camera mounted in a fairing on the side. When released, the bomb uses the standard JDAM kit to glide to the target area and the seeker/camera to lock on the ship. Once lock on is achieved, the guidance system directs the bomb to detonate near the hull below the waterline.

Previous QUICKSINK demonstrations in 2021 and 2022 featured F-15E Strike Eagles deploying modified 2,000-pound GBU-31 JDAMs. This marks the very first time a B-2 Spirit has been publicly reported to test this anti-ship capability. Considering a B-2 can carry up to 16 GBU-31 JDAMs, this highlights the significant anti-surface firepower a single stealth bomber can bring to a maritime conflict scenario.

Quicksink

F-15E Strike Eagle at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. with modified 2,000-pound GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions as part of the second test in the QUICKSINK Joint Capability Technology Demonstration on April 28, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo / 1st Lt Lindsey Heflin)

SINKEXs

“Sinking exercises allow us to hone our skills, learn from one another, and gain real-world experience,” stated U.S. Navy Vice Adm. John Wade, the RIMPAC 2024 Combined Task Force Commander in a public statement. “These drills demonstrate our commitment to maintaining a safe and open Indo-Pacific region.”

Ships used in SINKEXs, known as hulks, are prepared in strict compliance with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations under a general permit the Navy holds pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act. Each SINKEX requires the hulk to sink in water at least 6,000 feet deep and more than 50 nautical miles from land.

In line with EPA guidelines, before a SINKEX, the Navy thoroughly cleans the hulk, removing all materials that could harm the marine environment, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), petroleum, trash, and other hazardous materials. The cleaning process is documented and reported to the EPA before and after the SINKEX.

Royal Netherlands Navy De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate HNLMS Tromp (F803) fires a Harpoon missile during a long-planned live fire sinking exercise as part of Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024. (Royal Netherlands Navy photo by Cristian Schrik)

SINKEXs are conducted only after the area is surveyed to ensure no people, marine vessels, aircraft, or marine species are present. These exercises comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and are executed following permits and authorizations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, and Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.

The ex-Dubuque, an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, was commissioned on September 1, 1967, and served in Vietnam, Operation Desert Shield, and other missions before being decommissioned in June 2011. The ex-Tarawa, the lead amphibious assault ship of its class, was commissioned on May 29, 1976, participated in numerous operations including Desert Shield and Iraqi Freedom, and was decommissioned in March 2009.

This year marks the second time a Tarawa-class ship has been used for a SINKEX, following the sinking of the ex-USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3) during RIMPAC 2006.

H/T Ryan Chan for the heads up!

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

@TheAviationist.com

[mariacallous]

The European Parliament has approved the European Commission’s proposal to provide Ukraine with an exceptional loan of up to €35 billion ($37 billion), contributing to the G7’s broader support initiative, which aims to raise up to $50 billion (approximately €45 billion) for Ukraine. 

The repayment of the loan will be covered by extraordinary revenues generated from frozen Russian assets.

In the vote, 635 members of Parliament participated, with 518 voting in favor, 56 against, and 61 abstaining, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

This exceptional loan is part of the EU’s contribution to the G7’s initiative to support Ukraine, aiming to meet the country’s urgent financial needs amid Russia’s aggressive war. The loan, along with others from G7 countries, will be repaid using proceeds from the immobilized assets of Russia's Central Bank and supported by the recently established Ukraine Credit Cooperation Mechanism in Kyiv.

Future revenues from frozen Russian assets, as well as potential contributions from EU member states and other countries, will be provided to Ukraine through this mechanism to help the country repay the loan, as well as other G7 partner loans deemed eligible by the Commission. These funds will be used solely for servicing and repaying eligible loans.

The new loan is unrestricted, allowing Ukraine to allocate the funds as it sees fit. Management and control systems, as outlined in Ukraine’s plan, along with specific anti-fraud measures, will also apply to the loan. The funds will be made available by the end of 2024 and disbursed by the end of 2025.

Previously, the European Council approved the proposal and plans to adopt the resolution in writing following the parliamentary vote. The resolution is expected to come into force the day after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.

In September, the European Commission announced the €35 billion loan as part of the G7 partners' plan to lend up to $50 billion (€45 billion) to Ukraine. Future revenues from frozen Russian state assets will fund the loans. Approximately €210 billion in Russian Central Bank assets are frozen in the EU as part of the sanctions imposed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In late May 2024, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated that G7 countries could provide Ukraine with a multi-billion dollar loan using interest generated from $300 billion in frozen Russian state assets.

In early June, Brent Neiman, a senior official at the U.S. Treasury Department, said that Washington and its G7 partners were making progress in using profits from Russian assets to support Ukraine.

On June 12, the Élysée Palace confirmed that G7 leaders had reached an agreement to provide Ukraine with $50 billion from frozen Russian assets.

Hungary remains opposed to the EU collectively providing military support to Ukraine and is also blocking other weapons-related decisions for Kyiv, totaling €6.6 billion.

On Oct. 9, EU ambassadors agreed to provide Ukraine with a €35 billion loan, to be repaid using profits from frozen Russian assets.

On Oct. 15, 2024, the European Parliament’s Committee backed the decision to grant Ukraine the €35 billion loan.

[brightoakgame]

Welcome to Bright Oak!

I just looked up to find that-- despite my diligently playing cat-and-mouse with bots-- Bright Oak now has over 200 300 followers (!!), with the main post at over 100 200 notes! ✨ I’m frankly blown away by the level of kindness and support my little project has met with so far; thank you! 

Given the influx of new friends, this seems like a good time to put together an FAQ / more global update on the state of Bright Oak, overall:

What is Bright Oak? Bright Oak is a heavily character-driven visual novel game with elements of science fiction, and this is the post you’ll want to start with! I plan to keep the pinned post up-to-date throughout development, so if you need the broad strokes of what Bright Oak is about, that’s the place to look for individual character introductions and similar information. 

When will the game be finished? The (free) first act demo will release June 24th, and I aim to release the full finished game before the end of the year. While on the ambitious side, this schedule is by no means unrealistic, given the weight of assets already completed.

Where will the game be released? To begin, Bright Oak will be available on Itch.io as well as on Steam. Other options will be weighed later on, but the current focus is on those two locations.

Is there going to be a Kickstarter? Firstly, thank you so much for asking. Secondly-- no, there will not be a Kickstarter. The decision was made early on to fund this wholly out-of-pocket; as a first-time dev, I felt more comfortable working on a shoestring instead of taking on the risk and stress of a funding campaign (though if you have the means and inclination to support the development of Bright Oak, I do have a Ko-fi account set up)

Will the release be commercial? How much will the finished game cost? Yes, it will be a commercial release, with a free demo. While I have not settled yet on an exact range (I would like it to be something of a sliding scale), I intend to keep the high end under $20. The release will not be serialized, but will include all routes.

What is the overall status on the game? Assets that are currently finished in their entirety include the script (all paths and variations), character art, and the soundtrack. Sprites are colored. The first act is fully coded, with the second act blocked in with basic coding. Backgrounds are about 80% finished.

Who is working on Bright Oak? I am always thrilled by the opportunity to praise the talents I’ve been lucky enough to work with! 

Remnantation was hired as the commissioned artist, and has become beyond that a steadfast, treasured friend. They have been on board with Bright Oak since very nearly the beginning, and at this point I feel they’ve invested as much care and energy into it as I have. Rem’s facility with expressions both broad and subtle, as well as their grasp of naturalistic body language, have brought a life to the characters that simply cannot be overstated. For those interested, Remnantation’s character art can also be seen in @windchimesgames newly-released Emberfate: Tempest of Elements, as well as @foxdriftstudios freshly-funded work in progress, Garden of Seif: Chronicles of an Assassin.

John Åhlin is a masterful composer and multi-instrumentalist; I promise the stellar Morricone-influenced Western soundtrack alone will be worth the wait! 

Wudgeous of @herotome​ is an absolute superhero and coding wizard, aiding with everything from sprite layers and small animations, to unswerving support and helping answer all the silly questions I lack the bandwidth to sort out on my own. If you haven’t yet, may I recommend playing the Herotome demo? And if you’ve played it already-- well, nothing will stop you from playing it again, either. ✨

Finally, if there’s anything I missed here, my Ask box is open (past Asks can be found here). Thank you again for your interest and support; I look forward to sharing more of Bright Oak with you in the coming months!

B.

[seogoogle1]

Talee: Your Ultimate Personal Finance Companion

In an age where financial stability and smart money management are crucial, Talee emerges as a beacon of innovation and practicality. This comprehensive personal finance management tool is designed to help individuals take control of their financial lives. From budgeting to investment tracking, Talee offers a suite of features tailored to meet the diverse needs of its users.

Understanding Talee

Talee is an all-encompassing personal finance app aimed at making money management straightforward and efficient. Its user-friendly interface and robust features ensure that users can handle their finances with ease and precision. Whether you’re looking to budget better, save more, or keep track of your investments, Talee has got you covered.

Highlighting Talee’s Features

Simplified Budgeting: Talee’s budgeting feature allows users to set realistic budgets based on their income and expenditure patterns. The app provides detailed insights into spending habits, helping users identify potential savings. With its intuitive design, users can effortlessly adjust their budgets and track their progress in real-time.

Automated Expense Tracking: One of the most challenging aspects of personal finance is keeping track of daily expenses. Talee automates this process by linking directly to users’ bank accounts and credit cards, categorizing transactions, and providing a clear picture of where money is being spent. This automation not only saves time but also ensures accuracy.

Goal-Oriented Savings: Whether you’re saving for a big purchase, a vacation, or an emergency fund, Talee makes it easy to set and achieve your financial goals. Users can create multiple savings goals, allocate funds towards them, and track their progress. The app also offers tips and strategies to help users save more efficiently.

Comprehensive Investment Tracking: For those who invest, Talee offers a sophisticated investment tracking tool. By linking investment accounts, users can monitor portfolio performance, track asset allocation, and receive insights into market trends. This feature is designed to help users make informed investment decisions and optimize their portfolios.

Bill Payment Reminders: Missing a bill payment can result in late fees and a negative impact on your credit score. Talee’s bill reminder feature ensures that users never miss a payment. The app sends timely notifications for upcoming bills, helping users stay organized and avoid unnecessary penalties.

Insightful Financial Reports: Understanding your financial health is crucial for making informed decisions. Talee provides detailed financial reports and analyses, offering insights into spending patterns, income sources, and investment returns. These reports are designed to help users make strategic adjustments to their financial plans.

Why Talee Stands Out

Intuitive Design: Talee’s interface is clean, intuitive, and easy to navigate. It is designed to be accessible for users of all tech skill levels, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable user experience.

Top-Notch Security: Security is a paramount concern for Talee. The app employs advanced encryption techniques and security measures to protect users’ financial data. Users can trust that their sensitive information is secure.

Highly Customizable: Talee offers a high degree of customization, allowing users to tailor the app to their specific financial needs. From setting custom budget categories to personalizing savings goals, Talee adapts to each user’s unique financial situation.

Multi-Platform Access: Talee is available on multiple platforms, including iOS, Android, and web. This ensures that users can access their financial information anytime, anywhere, providing flexibility and convenience.

Community Support: Talee boasts a vibrant community of users who share tips, advice, and support. Additionally, Talee’s customer support team is readily available to assist with any issues or questions, ensuring users always have the help they need.

The Future of Personal Finance with Talee

Talee is committed to continuous improvement and innovation. The development team is constantly working on adding new features and enhancing existing ones to meet the evolving needs of its users. Future updates are set to include advanced financial planning tools, enhanced investment tracking, and expanded integration options with various financial institutions.

As the landscape of personal finance grows more complex, Talee stands as an indispensable tool for managing money effectively. By providing a comprehensive, user-friendly platform, Talee empowers individuals to take charge of their financial future. Whether you’re just beginning your financial journey or looking to refine your financial strategies, Talee offers the tools and insights you need to succeed.

Talee is more than just a personal finance app; it is a comprehensive financial companion designed to simplify and enhance the way you manage your money. With its innovative features and commitment to user satisfaction, Talee is set to become an essential part of personal finance management for people around the world.

website: https://talee.co.uk

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What is ESG Investing? What is the Best Way to Get Started? 

ESG is the next big thing in investing. It offers real-world performance factors that help investors consider how companies impact the regional community when making investment decisions. They also develop strategic thinking to work toward sustainable development goals (SDGs). This post will discuss what matters in ESG investing and to get started. 

What Is ESG Investing? 

ESG investing means investors utilize the three types of compliance metrics of corporate impact metrics to screen the target companies’ stocks or funds. Moreover, corporations seek to attract such investments through responsible and sustainable business practices. 

If investors want data on the beneficial effect of a company’s operations on the local community, they can use ESG services. They can get reports from a data-driven survey concerning the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) compliance standards. 

ESG audits enable informed investment decisions and portfolio management strategies. Investors can monitor whether a firm delivers its promised SDG metrics using such inspections. Likewise, consider the investors who invest their capital into the businesses that provide their employees with fair wages and respect. 

How to Get Started with ESG Investing? 

1| Specify Which Metrics Matter the Most to You 

Investors must identify the ESG metrics, like forest preservation or tax transparency, before selecting a stock or asset class. They must also consider how all metrics have a unique significance in several industries. For example, carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission risks will differ across data centers, agricultural businesses, and construction firms. 

If an organization wants to attract investors using sustainability performance, it can benefit from ESG consulting. Consultants understand the investors’ conceptualization of an ESG-first enterprise of investors and how companies can work towards improving their operations to fulfill them. 

2| Determine Realistic Goals 

Depending on the scope of the energy transition, adopting greener resources and production technologies can financially burden a business at the initial stage. So, investors, regulators, and entrepreneurs must use real-world data to estimate the progress rate of compliance improvement initiatives. 

An organization or exchange-traded fund (ETF) can fail to retain investors if the compliance milestones remain distant. Accordingly, administrators involved in regulatory policy changes that can impact an industry’s ESG dynamics must consider how long the corporate world will need to modify its operations. 

3| Mitigate Greenwashing Risks 

Companies might advertise their brand as “eco-friendly” or socially responsible. However, investors must watch out for the greenwashing attempts. Greenwashing refers to magnifying a company’s sustainability commitments with no on-ground implementation. 

An enterprise might declare it opposes discriminatory practices while showing inaction when an employee experiences workplace harassment. Another example can be an energy distributor not reducing its usage of coal and petroleum derivatives as fuel. 

Therefore, investors and fund managers must cross-verify the “green claims” that a target company makes during press releases or marketing campaigns. 

4| Get ESG Ratings Using Multiple Frameworks 

To test the legitimacy of a corporation’s SDG commitments, a rating mechanism based on multi-variate performance analytics can help in ESG investing. Today, many sustainability accounting frameworks exist. For example, the global reporting initiative (GRI) allows sectorial modules. 

Each GRI criterion addresses a family of interdependent services and products. So, an agricultural business will use a separate GRI standard, differing from the modules used in technology, finance, and manufacturing firms. 

How can investors get started with ESG score comparisons? Some online databases offer preliminary insights into how different brands and ETFs compete in this space. However, more extensive data becomes available through paid platforms or experienced consultants.  

Conclusion 

ESG criteria will empower investors to evaluate the ecological or social risks associated with how an enterprise handles its operations. Fund managers and similar financial institutions can gain a more objective outlook on stock screening using industry-relevant assistance. 

Furthermore, combating the greenwashing risks will be challenging if you are a sustainability investor, but extensive analytical models will come to your rescue. Finally, investors must refer to multiple sustainability accounting frameworks or databases to check a firm’s compliance ratings. This approach is how you get started with ESG investing. 

Nevertheless, manual inspection is time-consuming, and ESG ratings keep changing due to mergers and new projects. So, collaborating with data partners capable of automating compliance tracking, controversy analytics, and carbon credit assessments is vital. 

[wallace18811]

Explore the Bit Loop: New crypto asset circulation and reward mechanisms

Explore the Bit Loop: New crypto asset circulation and reward mechanisms In the dynamic and ever-evolving cryptocurrency space, Bit Loop stands out for its innovative money circulation system and team sharing reward system. This article will delve into how Bit Loop enables the automatic circulation of assets and the distribution of rewards through smart contract technology, as well as the principles behind these mechanisms and possible implications.

Bit Loop Overview of the circulation system The Bit Loop allows users to put in USDT (a stablecoin), choose the cycle to participate in, after which the funds will be automatically returned to the user at the end of the cycle. This process is done automatically through smart contracts without human intervention, greatly increasing the transparency and security of transactions. Based on real-time data such as the number of wallet addresses, the amount of funds in circulation and other parameters, the smart contract automatically calculates the order demand of both the supply and demand sides, and matches the transaction.

The team shares the reward system Another notable feature of Bit Loop is its team sharing reward system, which encourages users to invite new participants to join and increase mobility. Based on the amount of their own investment and the activities of users they directly and indirectly invite, users can be rewarded from the circulation revenue of up to 17 generations of friends. For example:

Circulation 100USDT rewards you with 20% of your 1st generation friend circulation revenue. After 200USDT circulation, the reward extends to 2 generations of friends, 10% of the revenue each time. As the amount of circulation increases, the reward can be expanded to more friends, but the reward percentage gradually decreases. All rewards are automatically processed through smart contracts and deposited directly into the user's wallet, which ensures the fairness and efficiency of the process.

Risk and consideration While Bit Loop offers an attractive way to invest and earn, participants still need to consider the associated risks. First, while smart contracts reduce the potential for human error and fraud, they do so only if the contract itself is free from vulnerabilities and attacks. Second, a multi-tiered reward structure needs to ensure that it does not evolve into unsustainable payment schemes or be seen as pyramid schemes.

In addition, the volatility and uncertainty of the cryptocurrency market are also potential risk factors. Participants should conduct proper market research and risk assessment, and maintain reasonable management of investment quotas.

conclusion By combining the advantages of modern blockchain technology, Bit Loop provides a new circulation and appreciation path for crypto assets. Its innovative team sharing reward system is also likely to attract a large number of users, driving the growth and development of the platform. However, the potential risks also remind participants of the importance of careful evaluation and consideration before investing. As such, Bit Loop could be an interesting and beneficial model for crypto asset management, but its success will depend on transparency, security, and the continued expansion of its user base.

[thompson0320]

Explore the Bit Loop: New crypto asset circulation and reward mechanisms

In the dynamic and ever-evolving cryptocurrency space, Bit Loop stands out for its innovative money circulation system and team sharing reward system. This article will delve into how Bit Loop enables the automatic circulation of assets and the distribution of rewards through smart contract technology, as well as the principles behind these mechanisms and possible implications.

Bit Loop Overview of the circulation system The Bit Loop allows users to put in USDT (a stablecoin), choose the cycle to participate in, after which the funds will be automatically returned to the user at the end of the cycle. This process is done automatically through smart contracts without human intervention, greatly increasing the transparency and security of transactions. Based on real-time data such as the number of wallet addresses, the amount of funds in circulation and other parameters, the smart contract automatically calculates the order demand of both the supply and demand sides, and matches the transaction.

The team shares the reward system Another notable feature of Bit Loop is its team sharing reward system, which encourages users to invite new participants to join and increase mobility. Based on the amount of their own investment and the activities of users they directly and indirectly invite, users can be rewarded from the circulation revenue of up to 17 generations of friends. For example:

Circulation 100USDT rewards you with 20% of your 1st generation friend circulation revenue. After 200USDT circulation, the reward extends to 2 generations of friends, 10% of the revenue each time. As the amount of circulation increases, the reward can be expanded to more friends, but the reward percentage gradually decreases. All rewards are automatically processed through smart contracts and deposited directly into the user's wallet, which ensures the fairness and efficiency of the process.

Risk and consideration While Bit Loop offers an attractive way to invest and earn, participants still need to consider the associated risks. First, while smart contracts reduce the potential for human error and fraud, they do so only if the contract itself is free from vulnerabilities and attacks. Second, a multi-tiered reward structure needs to ensure that it does not evolve into unsustainable payment schemes or be seen as pyramid schemes.

In addition, the volatility and uncertainty of the cryptocurrency market are also potential risk factors. Participants should conduct proper market research and risk assessment, and maintain reasonable management of investment quotas.

conclusion By combining the advantages of modern blockchain technology, Bit Loop provides a new circulation and appreciation path for crypto assets. Its innovative team sharing reward system is also likely to attract a large number of users, driving the growth and development of the platform. However, the potential risks also remind participants of the importance of careful evaluation and consideration before investing. As such, Bit Loop could be an interesting and beneficial model for crypto asset management, but its success will depend on transparency, security, and the continued expansion of its user base.