Latest news with #EBS
Business Wire
6 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
MelroseINC Unveils AWS Cloud Storage Performance Results for Video Editing Workflows
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MelroseINC, a Los Angeles-based leader in media technology solutions, announced the results of a groundbreaking cloud storage proof of concept (POC) designed to test real-world performance of cloud systems in high-demand TV and film post-production workflows. The initiative, driven by the company's MelrosePMC and MelroseTEC divisions, explored advanced cloud storage configurations within a DaVinci Resolve color correction, editing, and finishing environment. Unlike traditional tests conducted by vendors or end users, this proof of concept was independently conducted by the MelroseTEC team along with a group of software engineers with deep expertise in deploying AWS environments for industry clients globally. This team—cloud-native integrators with limited reliance on hardware—represent the future of infrastructure design in media technology. The Bottom Line: For post-production tasks like rendering and encoding, Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage in AWS delivers best-in-class performance and automation when measured against two leading competitors — cutting job time by anywhere between 40 seconds to 15 minutes. The Proof of Concept evaluated three key systems: Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage in AWS – A high-performance, hybrid architecture utilizing fast EBS storage Competitor #1 – Direct access to S3-compatible cloud object storage Competitor #2 – A file streaming solution using smart cache and S3 storage Key Finding: Rendering and Proxy File Creation: Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage in AWS emerged as the top performer, completing proxy generation 47% faster than Competitor #1 and 28% faster than Competitor #2 MelroseINC's proof of concept signals a major industry shift. 'We're delivering total workflow solutions,' said Zeke Margolis, VP of Cloud Solutions at MelrosePMC. 'From traditional on-premise setups to flexible, hybrid architectures with workflows that blend on-premise systems, private media centers, and public cloud platforms, we're enabling companies to move beyond their existing hardware into PMC environments to stay agile, cost-effective, and competitive in a rapidly evolving media landscape.' Working with Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage in AWS is quickly becoming an integral part of a production ecosystem that supports fast rendering, collaborative editing, and global remote access. 'As the industry pivots to flexible hybrid and cloud-native workflows, the ' Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage in AWS ' test underscores how essential it is to match infrastructure to evolving creative demands,' said Richard Duke, Chief Cloud Solutions Architect at Avid. 'Working with partners like MelroseINC allows us to substantiate these solutions in real time and continue pioneering what's possible for modern post-production teams.' With this proof of concept, MelroseINC —through its PMC and TEC teams—reinforces its leadership in building advanced, scalable, and hybrid infrastructure to provide clients with a flexible roadmap to build their own production ecosystems—whether hybrid, fully remote, or cloud-native. About MelroseINC Launched in 2003, MelroseINC is a technology solutions provider based in Los Angeles, CA, delivering integrated systems, cloud workflows, and managed services to clients across media, entertainment, enterprise and government sectors. Its MelrosePMC and MelroseTEC divisions specialize in workflow design, system integration, and cloud infrastructure for creative and technical professionals.
RTÉ News
8 hours ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
EBS and Haven cut some mortgage rates, extend cash back offer
AIB units EBS and Haven are cutting the interest rates on non-green mortgages by up to 0.50% for new and existing customers from tomorrow. The 0.50% reductions will impact the EBS 2-year fixed rate product and the Haven 3-year fixed rate product. Both Haven and EBS said they are also cutting all other non-green fixed rates by 0.20%. The reduced rates will be available to both new and existing customers. AIB said the latest reductions are in line with the falling interest rate environment and the bank's commitment to delivering value for customers, particularly those whose homes do not have a Building Energy Rating of B3 or higher. The reductions will also help customers coming to the end of their fixed term, as they roll off historically lower rates into an environment where rates are now higher, the bank added. Meanwhile customers who are switching their mortgage to EBS and Haven and meet the criteria will also benefit from the extension of the lenders' cashback and switcher offers to the end of December 2026. EBS said a monthly repayment on a new €300,000 two-year fixed rate mortgage, over a 25 year term will be €1,566.99. The previous monthly repayment would have been €1,650.52, representing a saving of €83.53 a month, €1,002.36 a year, or €3,506.85 over the 25 year term. Haven said a monthly repayment on a new €300,000 three year non-green fixed rate mortgage over a 25-year term will be €1,542.39. The previous monthly repayment would have been €1,625.21, representing a saving of €82.82 a month, €993.84 annually, or €5,187.78 over the 25-year term. Managing Director of EBS and Haven Director Paul Butler said that AIB Group, through AIB, EBS and Haven, believes it is critical the lenders offer a wide variety of choice, value and convenience for customers seeking to buy their home, or switch their mortgage. "The reductions of up to 0.50% will help customers save on their monthly will also be able to avail of our Cashback and Switcher offers," he added.
Irish Independent
13 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
EBS and Haven cut some mortgage rates and extend cash-back offers
EBS and Haven, the broker-focused units of AIB, are reducing mortgage rates by up to 0.50 percentage points on some products. It comes the day before European Central Bank (ECB) meeting, where wholesale lending rates are expected to be left on hold. The EBS and Haven cuts are for non-green mortgages and apply to new and existing customers coming off fixed rates or moving from a variable rate with the lenders. Broker Michael Dowling questioned why the EBS and Haven 'green rates' were not coming down. The 0.50 point reductions are for the EBS two-year fixed rate product and the Haven three-year fixed rate product. Both Haven and EBS are also reducing all other non-green fixed rates by 0.20 percentage points. The new rates are available to new and existing customers from this Thursday. The reductions are in line with the falling interest rate environment and AIB's commitment to delivering value for customers, particularly those whose homes don't have a Building Energy Rating of B3 or higher, AIB Group said. The reductions will also help customers coming to the end of their fixed term, as they roll off historically lower rates into an environment where rates are now higher, it said. Customers who are switching their mortgage to EBS and Haven and meet the criteria will also benefit from the extension of the 'Cashback' and 'Switcher' offers to the end of December 2026 on certain products. The EBS Back in Cash offers give 2pc of the value of a mortgage upfront, plus 1pc after five years. There is also an offer of €3,000 in cash back from EBS on its green mortgage. Haven has a €5,000 cashback offer for new borrowers, and a €3,000 cash offer for switchers. Managing director of EBS and Haven director Paul Butler said: 'AIB Group, through AIB, EBS and Haven, believes it's critical we offer a wide variety of choice, value and convenience for customers seeking to buy their home, or switch their mortgage.' Mr Butler said a monthly repayment on a new €300,000 EBS two-year fixed rate mortgage, over a 25 year term, will be €1,566.99. The previous monthly repayment would have been €1,650.52, representing a saving of €83.53 per month, or €1,002.36 a year. A monthly repayment on a new €300,000 Haven three-year non-green fixed rate mortgage over a 25-year term will be €1,542.39. The previous monthly repayment would have been €1,625.21, representing a saving of €82.82 per month, or €993.84 annually. Michael Dowling of Irish Mortgage Brokers said last October AIB announced significant rate reductions to its 'green rates' making them the cheapest in the market. However, these reductions did not apply to EBS or Haven mortgage customers, despite the fact that both banks are 100pc owned by AIB. He said the 0.50 percentage points reduction only applies to the two-year fixed option with EBS and the three-year fixed option with Haven. 'The other non-green rates for AIB, EBS and Haven remain expensive compared to what competitors are offering,' Mr Dowling said. 'Extraordinarily, nine months later, there are no rate reductions to the 'green' rates from EBS and Haven.' Mr Dowling questioned why AIB 'discriminates' in the rate offering from the three entities within the group.
Yomiuri Shimbun
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average Soars to One-Year Peak on Trade Deal; Bonds Slide
TOKYO, July 23 (Reuters) – Japanese automakers led a surge in the Nikkei share average to a one-year peak on Wednesday, after Tokyo reached a trade deal with Washington, ending a months-long stalemate. Under the agreement, Japanese exports to the United States face a 15% levy, down from a threatened tariff of 25%. Specific duties on autos, which account for more than a quarter of Japan's U.S. exports, also fell to 15% from 25%. The Nikkei .N225 rallied 3.5% to end the day at 41,171.32, its highest close since July last year. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's transport equipment index .ITEQP.T soared nearly 11%, with Toyota Motor 7203.T surging more than 14%. The clarity on tariffs bolstered the case for the Bank of Japan to resume raising interest rates, lifting short-term Japanese government bond yields. Longer-term JGB yields also climbed, with local media reporting that embattled Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was preparing to step down, suggesting a shift in the political landscape towards increased fiscal largesse. Ishiba has denied the reports. The 10-year yield JP10YTN=JBTC shot to the highest since 2008 at 1.6%, while a 40-year debt auction garnered the lowest demand since 2011. The yen weakened about 0.3% to 147.02 per dollar JPY=EBS after initially flipping between gains and losses. 'As long as the political situation doesn't deteriorate too much more, we suspect Japan's equity rally has further to run,' Capital Economics head of Asia Pacific markets Thomas Mathews wrote in a note. For the rates market, 'our sense is that investors are still underestimating how fast the central bank will hike this year and next,' Mathews said. Ishiba is facing growing opposition from within his Liberal Democratic Party for his vow to stay in power despite the ruling coalition's drubbing in Sunday's election, which resulted in the loss of the coalition's upper house majority. Opposition parties calling for debt-funded consumption tax cuts made big gains at the polls. The yield on 40-year JGBs JP40YTN=JBTC climbed 8.5 basis points to hit 3.46%. Thirty-year yields JP30YTN=JBTC advanced as much as 6.5 basis points to 3.15%, approaching last week's all-time high of 3.20%. Two-year yields JP2YTN=JBTC, which are more sensitive to the monetary policy outlook, jumped 8 basis points to 0.83%, the highest since April 2, when U.S. President Donald Trump shocked markets with his aggressive 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement. Expectations for tighter monetary policy also lifted the TSE's banking index .IBNKS.T by 4.4%, making it the second-biggest gainer among the bourse's 33 industry groupings. The central bank will meet on policy next week. BOJ Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida said on Wednesday that the trade deal greatly reduces uncertainty over the economic outlook, but also warned that risks to activity and prices were skewed to the downside. 'I don't think this (trade deal) alone will lead to a Bank of Japan rate hike next week, but the possibility of a rate hike between September and October has increased,' said SMBC chief currency strategist Hirofumi Suzuki. 'However, if anything, political uncertainty is having more of an impact on the market, and the pressure for yen depreciation is likely to continue.'
Irish Times
16-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
How to buy your home from your landlord
A notice of termination can mean serious upheaval if you're a tenant . If your landlord is selling up, however, they must give you the right of first refusal to buy. This can open a door to home ownership for first-time buyers – if you've got the funds. The Tenant Home Purchase scheme can provide significant financial support to get a deal over the line. So, how do you make an offer to your landlord, and how much help can you get? How it works If you're renting somewhere you like, but saving to buy, your landlord selling up may not be the worst thing. The Government's Tenant Home Purchase option, which is part of the First Home Scheme, is designed to help first-time buyers and 'fresh start' applicants facing eviction buy the home they rent. A joint venture between the State and three banks – Bank of Ireland, PTSB and AIB, including its subsidiaries EBS and Haven – the scheme tries to bridge any shortfall between your mortgage and deposit and the price of the property. For many in rental accommodation, their maximum 'four times income' borrowings is not enough to buy. This is where the Tenant Home Purchase scheme steps in, giving minimum assistance of 2.5 per cent of the property purchase price or €10,000, whichever is higher. The scheme can provide up to 30 per cent of the purchase price. Would-be homeowners still have to come up with the usual deposit of 10 per cent of the home's purchase price. They have to show evidence of mortgage approval in principle for borrowings of the full four times their income too. The Tenant Home Purchase scheme money is not a loan, however. A bit like Dragons' Den, the Government is actually taking an equity share in your new home. Running since April 2023, 294 tenants facing eviction have been approved for purchase funding by the end of June this year. Some 158 have gone on to buy the property they rented. What can I buy? Tenants can buy a house or an apartment with the Tenant Home Purchase scheme. And this is the only scheme, apart from a refurbishment grant, where the Government will support you to buy a second-hand home. What you can buy, however, is limited by set ceilings in your local authority area. For example, in Dublin and Wicklow, the house and apartment price ceiling for the scheme is €500,000. In Kildare, it's €475,000 and in Meath it's €450,000. In Cork, it's €475,000 for a house and €500,000 for an apartment. Ceilings are reviewed twice annually. If the purchase price of the house or apartment you've been renting exceeds the stated ceilings for the local authority area, you can't use the scheme. It doesn't matter what your income is either. Applicants have to borrow the maximum four times their income, so the borrowings of those earning a decent amount may exceed the value ceiling in their local authority area, making them ineligible for the scheme. You'll have to come up with the 10 per cent deposit yourself too. The Help to Buy Scheme, which helps first-time buyers with their deposit, cannot be used with the Tenant Home Purchase scheme. How do I apply? The first step to applying is having a valid notice of termination from your landlord – you must include a copy of this when you apply for the Tenant Home Purchase scheme. You must show you have the 10 per cent deposit too, and mortgage approval in principle for four times your income – your rental payments should help with demonstrating repayment capacity. Where the home is valued at or under the local authority ceiling for the scheme, and your deposit and the maximum you are approved to borrow is less than the price of the property, the First Home Scheme will give you a certificate, confirming that you qualify for the scheme. Mortgage broker Michael Dowling has helped two sets of tenants using the scheme to apply for a mortgage. 'For one couple, the purchase price of their rental home was €440,000 and they are getting €74,000 towards its purchase through the First Home Scheme,' says Dowling. 'The scheme has made the difference between them being able to buy and not being able to buy a property,' he says. The landlord wasn't aware of the scheme, but was happy with the price offered which aligned with the local authority ceiling for the scheme. There are just three domestic banks participating now, so you are limited to their rates. While the scheme is open to others to join, newer entrants such as Avant, MoCo and Nua Money, who offer some good mortgage interest rates, are not yet persuaded. As the equity amount provided by the Government lowers the loan-to-value ratio, the banks tend to be well disposed to lending, says Dowling. 'The loan-to-value ratio, in terms of the risk the bank is taking on, is lower when they are only lending a certain percentage of the purchase price,' says Dowling. Payback time Tenant home purchasers pay mortgage repayments to the bank, just like any other mortgage holder. They don't make repayments on the Government's equity stake, however – that's because this bit isn't a loan as such. Instead, they make 'service charge' payments to the Government for its equity stake. For the first five years you own the property, there will be no service charge. The charge kicks in at the beginning of year six – that's if you haven't bought out the Government's equity share. You have the option to buy the Government out in a single lump sum payment, or over several payments. When you make these payments is up to you. If you don't buy the Government out, the service charge is at a fixed rate of 1.75 per cent for year six to year 15 and 2.15 per cent for year 16 to year 29. It's charged at 2.85 per cent after that. The charge is calculated by multiplying the original property purchase price by the First Home Scheme equity share and multiplying the result by the service charge rate for the year in question. For example, if the property purchase price was €400,000, the Government's equity stake is 12.5 per cent, or €50,000, the 1.75 per cent charge from year six to 15 will be €875 a year. You can opt to defer these service charge payments too, but you must pay the accumulated charges if you sell the property. Selling up If you sell the property in the future, the bank will have 'first charge' on the property – any outstanding balance on the mortgage gets repaid to it as is usual with a mortgage. The Government has a second charge on the property, so it gets paid too – but its payback is in relation to the current value of the property, not its value when you bought it. For example, if the Government took an equity stake of 20 per cent, in your €400,000 property to help you buy it, that's a stake of €80,000; it won't get €80,000 from its sale, but rather 20 per cent of the price at the time it is sold. So, if you ultimately sell your property for €600,000, the Government will get €120,000 back. If it sells for €300,000, it will get just €60,000 back. 'Some people think you only have to give back what you got originally from the Government, but you give back the percentage share – so if the value of your house increases, you will have to give more back,' says Dowling. 'That's the price you pay for being given the money upfront, and not having to make any repayments.' Advantages Being able to stay where you rent has significant advantages, for families in particular. 'One family has two children who will be able to continue going to the same school and play at the same sports clubs, so there are huge benefits,' says Dowling. For the landlord, who was getting out, selling to their sitting tenant means no presale staging costs or estate agent's fees. There is no break in rental payments either and this can save a landlord thousands. Apartments had an average sale time of more than nine weeks in the second quarter of this year, according to estate agent Owen Reilly. Houses took longer. Some 18 per cent of sales are falling through, according to his report, meaning months more of lost rent. Not using an estate agent makes the sales process slightly different, says Dowling. An agent will usually take a booking deposit from a buyer, holding it until the transaction is complete. They will usually verify the buyer's mortgage approval on behalf of the seller too. Dowling says landlords he has dealt with have accepted confirmation from a mortgage broker of the buyer's deposit and mortgage approval, and they have accepted the mortgage broker's assurance that the balance of payment is coming from the First Home Scheme. 'Will all landlords be as amenable? I don't know. A buyer could get a solicitor to handle this too.' Right to buy If you are not eligible for the Tenant Home Purchase scheme – perhaps your four times income borrowings exceed the local authority ceiling for properties in the area – you can still make your landlord an offer yourself. Tenants in private rented accommodation who do not receive housing support have the right of first refusal to buy their rented home if it is put up for sale. The landlord must invite the tenant to make a bid within 90 days of serving a notice of termination due their intention to sell. One possible route is for both tenant and landlord to agree to get independent valuations of the property and to meet in the middle. If a tenant's initial bid is unsuccessful, by law, they have the opportunity to match, if they can, the final sales price agreed with another party on the open market. Importantly, landlords are obligated to accept a matching bid from the tenant. New rules for landlords due to take effect in March next year will further limit rent increases and the ability to end tenancies. This may drive more landlords to sell up. Tenants interested in buying would be minded to get their ducks in a row.
