New York – October 15, 2026 -- YunoJuno, a Freelancer Management System (FMS) provider, has been named International Contractor Services Provider of the Year at the 2026 Contracting Awards, its third consecutive win in the category after 2024 and 2025.

The 2025 award came as part of a double win that also included Best Contractor Innovation. The category assesses contractor engagement across countries and is judged on compliance, scale, payment infrastructure and the experience delivered to both enterprise clients and contractors.

YunoJuno reports 45% revenue growth and first full-year profit for 2025

The company achieved its first full year of profitability in 2025, alongside 45% revenue growth. It attributes the growth to international expansion and rising enterprise demand.

Hamburg – October 15, 2026 -- Some 29% of European bank customers would rather discuss sensitive financial matters with AI than with a human employee, according to the EOS Banking AI Barometer published by EOS Group. Among 18-34-year-olds, the share rises to 38%.

46% of consumers report better bank communication through AI

Only 11% of respondents perceive a decline in service quality. Some 54% value AI for helping them find information, and 51% praise faster communication and round-the-clock availability.

Trust in AI's problem-solving ability stays at 35-36%

Only 35% to 36% of respondents trust AI to understand their needs, act with precision and solve problems effectively. Some 60% miss the human touch in AI communication.

EOS Group CEO Marwin Ramcke said the best banks use AI as a tool for better service, not as a replacement for relationships.

Redmond – October 15, 2026 -- Halfpricesoft.com released ezW2 2026, tax software that starts at $119.00 per single installation for the E-File version and $69.00 for the Print-and-Mail edition, ahead of the 2027 tax season.

Both editions support unlimited forms for unlimited companies. The software covers W-2, W-3, 1099-NEC and 1096 preparation.

Direct in-app filing removes the need for agency accounts

The recommended filing path transmits W-2/W-3 data to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and 1099-NEC/1096 forms to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from inside the application. Users do not need an IRS Transmitter Control Code (TCC) or SSA registration, so they skip those application processes.

Submissions run through Halfpricesoft's authorized systems. The company says users get real-time status updates and error monitoring.

Italy – October 15, 2026 -- Anatomage has added two obesity reference bodies, Class I (BMI 30–34.9) and Class III (BMI above 40), to its Anatomage Table software. Eligible tables receive the update at no additional cost.

Obesity models target a condition affecting one in eight people worldwide

The models follow WHO and CDC classifications and are described as one of the first full-body, interactive 3D resources for studying clinical obesity. They show external changes such as skin folds, stretch marks and increased subcutaneous and visceral fat, which can displace and compress organs. Internal changes include muscle hypertrophy, myosteatosis, liver changes linked to MASLD and ovarian changes linked to PMOS.

Stockholm – October 15, 2026 -- The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has selected SciBase Holding AB's Nevisense electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technology as the primary endpoint in its THREAT study, which will test how environmental exposures affect the skin barrier in 80 healthy volunteers.

NIH and Swiss institute launch THREAT study on everyday exposures

THREAT (Testing Harms Related to Exposure to Allergenic Toxins) is led by the NIH in collaboration with the Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF). The study design is described in an editorial in the peer-reviewed journal Allergy, titled "Exploring the Link Between Environmental Exposures and Disease via Direct Challenge."

London – October 15, 2026 -- Markel Insurance, the insurance arm of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE: MKL), has appointed Josephine Stroud as Head of Energy Liability and Jenny McFarlane as Senior Underwriter for Marine & Energy Liability in its London Market team.

Markel brings Hull, MECO, Liabilities and Transport & Logistics under one Marine Transportation unit

Both hires follow the creation of Markel's Marine Transportation business within its London Market operations. The unit combines Hull & Hull War, MECO, Marine & Energy Liabilities (M&E), and Transport & Logistics. Markel says the structure gives brokers broader access to underwriting expertise across these portfolios.

Stroud and McFarlane are based in London and report into the Marine & Energy Liability team, part of the Marine Transportation business led by Grant Smith.

Dublin – October 15, 2026 -- Elsevier has pledged 4,000 complimentary AI product licenses and an estimated €1m a year in in-kind support and funding to the European Commission's AI in Science Enablers Initiative.

The commitment was announced at the AI in Science Summit in Dublin. More than 1,000 participants from the research, technology, business and policy communities attended the event, which launched the Commission's effort to mobilize private-sector and philanthropic support for European science.

Elsevier splits 4,000 licenses evenly across four AI and clinical products

Elsevier will provide 1,000 licenses each for four products to European researchers, healthcare professionals and students:

London – October 15, 2026 -- Twinnin, a human likeness consent and licensing registry, has launched two services, Human Verified and Defend Twinn, and signed Model Management as its first Human Verified partner under an exclusive agreement covering a network of more than three million models.

Defend Twinn lets individuals register timestamped objections to AI use of their likeness

Users verify their identity, file a timestamped objection to AI use of their likeness, and initiate and track takedown requests through the service. Twinnin was co-founded by Kat Grobler and William Haakon Berg.

Human Verified accredits businesses that use human likenesses with consent

Model Management will display the Human Verified mark on its website to show its commitment to consent-based AI use of human likenesses. The agreement opens Twinnin to the company's network of more than three million models.

Munich – October 15, 2026 -- TIER IV and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have established the TUM Autoware Research Center by TIER IV, a multi-year research collaboration that combines three TUM research groups to build safe, scalable autonomous driving systems on the open-source Autoware stack.

TIER IV is funding the center strategically. The groups involved are the Chair of Automotive Technology (FTM) and the Professorships of Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) and Autonomous Vehicle Systems (AVS). The center is meant to serve as a long-term base for autonomous driving research, open-source software development and doctoral training. It will also link academic, industrial and public-transport projects and offer a platform for demonstrations and benchmark challenges.

Stockholm – October 15, 2026 -- Ericsson posted organic sales growth of 7% in the third quarter of 2026, lifting reported sales to SEK 59.5 billion from SEK 56.2 billion a year earlier, while net income fell to SEK 5.8 billion from SEK 11.3 billion because the prior-year period included a large divestment gain.

Networks drives growth in three of four market areas

Organic sales rose in three out of four market areas, primarily on higher sales in Networks. Adjusted gross income increased to SEK 28.4 billion from SEK 27.0 billion, driven by Mobile Networks. Reported gross income was SEK 28.0 billion, against SEK 26.8 billion a year earlier.