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China Trade Spat Threatens Wisconsin’s ‘Napa Valley’ of Ginseng

Article 0 Comments The cool woodlands of central Wisconsin boast soils packed with Ice Age mineral deposits that make the area perfect for the cultivation of ginseng, a medicinal root that has been exported to Asia for more than 300 years. Sliced and used in tea or ground into capsules, ginseng root is touted as an energy- and immunity-booster that can also reduce stress and improve memory. The bulk of the harvest is dried and shipped to China. Nearly all U.S. ginseng is produced in Marathon County, Wisconsin, where growers say the soil and climate produce top-quality roots with a distinct flavor, just as the “terroir” of specific wine regions affects the taste of grapes. Central Wisconsin, known as the “Napa Valley of American ginseng,” produces crops that fetch premium prices in global markets. But now, U.S. trade tensions with Beijing, a sluggish Chinese economy and strong competition from cheaper Canadian supplies are squeezing the niche industry that generated $14.7 million in U.S. exports to China in 2024, according to Chinese customs data. “It’s not profitable anymore,” said Joe Heil of Heil Ginseng Enterprises, a 30-year veteran of ginseng farming. A generation ago, Wisconsin had 1,400 growers, Heil said, while...

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Supreme Court Declines to Revive Mumps Vaccine Antitrust Case Against Merck

Article 0 Comments The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid by a group of physicians and healthcare providers to revive their antitrust lawsuit accusing drugmaker Merck of misleading federal regulators to maintain a decades-long monopoly over the mumps vaccine market. The justices turned away an appeal by the plaintiffs of a lower court’s decision to throw out the lawsuit on the basis that the drugmaker was protected under a legal doctrine that immunizes companies from antitrust claims based on actions aimed at swaying government decision-making. A collection of family doctors and physicians’ groups from New Jersey and New York filed the lawsuit in 2012 in federal court in Philadelphia, seeking monetary damages. The claims remaining in the long-running litigation involve allegations that the plaintiffs were overcharged for New Jersey-based Merck’s mumps vaccines as a result of the company’s monopolization of the mumps vaccine market in violation of federal antitrust law and New Jersey and New York state laws. The plaintiffs said that submissions by Merck to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration contained misrepresentations that effectively boxed out competitors such as GlaxoSmithKline and delayed market entry of a rival vaccine for more than a decade. Merck...

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World Acquires Wisconsin’s Green Bay Insurance Center

Article 0 Comments World Insurance Associates announced that it acquired the business of Green Bay Insurance Center of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1968, Green Bay Insurance Center is a full service agency located in Green Bay, specializing in home insurance, auto insurance, business insurance, builders risk insurance, farm insurance and group health insurance. Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla provided legal counsel and Reagan Consulting advised World on the transaction. Godfrey Kahn provided legal counsel, and Dowling Hales advised Green Bay Insurance Center on the transaction. No other advisors, diligence firms, or legal counsel were disclosed. Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article. Submit No Thanks Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it. Submit No Thanks Here are more articles you may enjoy. Interested in Mergers? Get automatic alerts for this topic.

Equisoft Launches AI-Powered Suite to Transform Insurance Operations Through Advanced Analytics, Automation and Human Augmentation 0

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Equisoft Launches AI-Powered Suite to Transform Insurance Operations Through Advanced Analytics, Automation and Human Augmentation

New Equisoft/amplify suite combines advanced analytics, insurance-specific AI agents, and human-in-the-loop workflows to accelerate product innovation and enhance operational excellence for any policy administration system Las Vegas, NV (Oct. 17, 2025) – Equisoft, a leading global digital solutions provider to the financial services industry, is pleased to announce the launch of the Equisoft/amplify suite for life insurance carriers to accelerate business performance and agility, combining multiple AI components that work together to deliver unprecedented operational efficiency and market responsiveness. Drawing on over 30 years of insurance expertise, Equisoft’s solution bridges the gap between carriers’ current reality and their AI-powered future by accelerating and enhancing modern insurance operations. Equisoft/amplify’s power lies in how its components work together to create a unified operational intelligence system. Advanced Analytics enable insurers to understand market dynamics and product or operational performance, insurance-specific agentic components deploy AI agents to autonomously monitor quality and customer experience in real-time, and human-in-the-loop workflows empower workers to focus on tasks requiring uniquely human characteristics like judgment and empathy. “Equisoft/amplify represents a fundamental shift in how life insurance carriers leverage AI to drive real business outcomes,” said Olivier Lafontaine, Chief Product Officer at Equisoft. “By bringing together advanced analytics, autonomous AI...

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Advisors Win Clients They Want With Estate Planning: Vanilla CEO

/ ThinkAdvisor provides financial advisors, registered investment advisors and wealth managers with comprehensive coverage of the products, services and information they need to guide their clients in making critical wealth, health and life decisions.

Applied Systems Unveils Applied Insurance AI Advancements 0

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Applied Systems Unveils Applied Insurance AI Advancements

Insurance-specific AI solutions embed intelligence into agency workflows to drive productivity and profitability Chicago, IL (Oct. 7, 2025) – Applied Systems® is pleased to announce the next wave of innovation within its Applied Insurance AI™ suite at Applied Net® 2025, the largest user conference for independent agents. Applied Insurance AI delivers connected, intelligent workflows across the entire Digital Roundtrip of Insurance, from sales and marketing to policy management, submissions, servicing, and financial management. Applied also previewed new Cytora-powered technologies that use advanced AI to understand and extract information from any data source, and autofill data directly into the agency management system. Applied is uniquely positioned to deliver practical, powerful, and safe AI for the insurance industry. Unlike general-purpose AI tools, Applied Insurance AI is purpose-built on more than 40 years of insurance expertise, the industry’s most-used agency management systems (Applied Epic® and EZLynx®), and the largest carrier connectivity network (Ivans®). Applied’s unmatched insurance data assets, combined with its industry-leading specialized AI engineering teams, differentiate Applied Insurance AI from anything else available on the market and enable innovations that target complex workflows that are specific to insurance. By removing administrative burdens with insurance AI, agencies can focus on the work that...

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Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Says Too Early to Give Stocks All-Clear

/ ThinkAdvisor provides financial advisors, registered investment advisors and wealth managers with comprehensive coverage of the products, services and information they need to guide their clients in making critical wealth, health and life decisions.

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NHTSA Investigates Waymo Robotaxis Over Safety Around School Buses

Article 0 Comments The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Monday it has opened a preliminary probe into about 2,000 Waymo self-driving vehicles after reports that the company’s robotaxis may have failed to follow traffic safety laws around stopped school buses. The probe is the latest federal review of self-driving systems as regulators scrutinize how driverless technologies interact with pedestrians, cyclists and other road users. NHTSA said the Office of Defects Investigation opened the review after flagging a media report describing an incident in which a Waymo autonomous vehicle did not remain stationary when approaching a school bus with its red lights flashing, stop arm deployed and crossing control arm extended. The report said the Waymo vehicle initially stopped beside the bus then maneuvered around its front, passing the extended stop arm and crossing control arm while students were disembarking. A Waymo spokesperson said the company has “already developed and implemented improvements related to stopping for school buses and will land additional software updates in our next software release.” The company added “driving safely around children has always been one of Waymo’s highest priorities. In the event referenced, the vehicle approached the school bus from an angle...

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LPG-Laden Tanker on Fire off Yemen, EU’s Naval Force Says

Article 0 Comments The LPG-laden tanker MV Falcon was on fire and adrift on Saturday off the coast of Yemen, after it reported an explosion that forced members of its crew to abandon the vessel, the European Union’s naval force Aspides said in a statement. The cause of the explosion was unclear, Aspides said, adding that 15% of the Cameroon-flagged vessel was on fire, according to initial indications. Due to the risk of further explosions, since the tanker was fully loaded with liquefied petroleum gas, Aspides said it had advised vessels in the area to keep a safe distance from the carrier. “The fire onboard is increasing,” Aspides said in a statement. “MV Falcon represents a navigational hazard. Everyone in the area must exercise caution.” An operation was in progress to rescue its 26 crew members. So far, 24 seafarers have been recovered by two merchant vessels sailing nearby. One of the ships, the MV Veda, was taking those rescued to Djibouti, escorted by a Greek frigate. Two crew members are reported missing, Aspides said. The MV Falcon was traveling from Oman’s Sohar Port to Djibouti, British security firm Ambrey said earlier. The explosion occurred as it was sailing 113...

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6 Signs Baby Boomers Are Facing Big Retirement Challenges

/ ThinkAdvisor provides financial advisors, registered investment advisors and wealth managers with comprehensive coverage of the products, services and information they need to guide their clients in making critical wealth, health and life decisions.