Tag Archives: CCP

First Footage of World of Darkness Vampire MMO Shown

At EVE Fanfest in Iceland, CCP showed the first footage of vampire MMO World of Darkness to a roomful of fans. It was more target footage than a representation of what the game looks like right now – it’s still far from release – but it’s the first tangible indication we’ve had of what this long-anticipated game is going to be like.

It looked super-stylish, embracing the sultry swagger and urban grime of modern vampire fiction. The player character – a female vampire – began by sucking a bystander dry in a rainy back alley, before striding past a True Blood-esque bar and leaning up against a railing whilst other vampires leaped across the American-style city rooftops in the background. The movement is agile and fast, almost spider-like; World of Darkness will be a very movement-centric MMO, aiming for something close to Assassin’s Creed’s city free-running.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Video Games

Megachurch Denied Property Tax Exemption For Gym And Bookstore/Cafe

By Peter J Reilly, Contributor

Nothing like a tax case to get into fundamental questions about religion.  The most recent one is between Christ Church Pentecostal of Nashville and the Tennessee State Board of Equalization.  Christ Church Pentecostal (CCP)  is what is known as a megachurch.  The Hartford Institute For Religion Research defines a megachurch as a Protestant congregation with sustained weekly attendance above 2,000. The Institute’s database identifies nearly 1,600 megachurches.  Roughly 40% of megachurches are, like CCP, nondenominational.  Megachurches are not places where people merely go for a couple of hours every Sunday for worship.  They are seven day a week institutions with many activities going on. 

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Northern Trust Enhances Operational Support for Central Counterparty Clearing of OTC Derivatives

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Northern Trust Enhances Operational Support for Central Counterparty Clearing of OTC Derivatives

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– To help clients comply with new regulations intended to manage risk in the financial derivatives markets, Northern Trust has enhanced its systems to provide operational support for central clearing of certain over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.

New capabilities allow Northern Trust to electronically capture trade information on swaps, a widely used type of OTC derivative, and connect with external parties to route trades to electronic matching platforms, clearing firms and exchanges. The enhancements to Northern Trust‘s custody and middle-office platform will support compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act in the United States and the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), which require investors to clear OTC derivatives through centralized exchanges, rather than on a bilateral basis.

“As the infrastructure for derivatives transactions moves toward central counterparty (CCP) clearing, we have developed processing efficiencies that allow us to electronically capture and confirm CCP trades, interface with the exchanges and clearing firms, and offer margin management,” said Judson Baker, Product Manager for Derivatives and Collateral Management at Northern Trust. “Our ability to provide these services saves our clients from having to make costly investments in systems and operational support needed to meet regulatory requirements.”

Available on a global basis to investment managers, institutional investors and other asset servicing clients, the new capabilities are integrated with Northern Trust‘s Investment Operations Outsourcing, global custody and collateral management systems to support all aspects of post-trade processing.

“The regulatory environment continues to evolve, bringing greater demand for derivatives services,” said Peter Cherecwich, Head of Global Fund Services at Northern Trust. “We are committed to investing in automation and increased product coverage to fully support derivatives processing, including margin management, in support of our back and middle office outsourcing clients.”

Northern Trust offers an active collateral management service for clients that trade futures and listed options, OTC and cleared swaps. Northern Trust provides this service for an array of derivative participants including asset managers, corporations, pension funds and family offices located around the globe. In addition, Northern Trust will continue to invest in operational capabilities in support of margin management to help clients optimize their pledged assets.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation (NAS: NTRS) is a leading provider of investment management, asset and fund administration, banking solutions and fiduciary services for corporations, institutions and affluent individuals worldwide. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Analysis: Icelanders question their lauded economic recovery

Petursson, CEO of IT company CCP, poses for a picture at the company's head office in Reykjavik

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) – Iceland's biggest IT company CCP is what the island needs to leave its economic crisis behind. It is global, growing and employs hundreds but its tale is also one of frustration that echoes concerns about the country's future. For CEO Hilmar Petursson, Iceland's lauded recovery model that included a sharp currency fall coupled with capital controls may have pulled a $13 billion economy back from the brink after a 2008 bank crash. But it is now a drag on firms like his. “The economic remedy has now become part of the problem … …

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Yahoo Business

Dust 514 Enters Open Beta Next Week

CCP games has announced that its PS3-exclusive FPS Dust 514 will enter open beta on January 22.

This means the game will be free to download and play for anyone from next week. The announcement follows the news that development of the game is moving apace; last week it was revealed CCP was testing the integration of Dust 514 with Eve using the latter’s Tranquility server.

CCP boss Hilmar Veigar Pétursson explained, “The launch of the Dust 514 Open Beta is another step towards our long-term vision for CCP and Eve.

“But this is just the beginning. As we have done with Eve Online, in the coming weeks, and for years to come, we will continually improve upon and add to the Dust 514 experience, as well as add deeper integration between the two games and their communities.”

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Video Games