Microsoft Corp. plans a multibillion-dollar overhaul of its main campus in Redmond, Washington, adding space for 8,000 more workers and creating areas for collaboration and recreation as the company tries to keep up with growth in hiring and trends toward more open office spaces.

The five- to seven-year plan will knock down 12 low-rise buildings at the heart of the company’s original headquarters and replace them with 18 new buildings, many of them double the height, President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith said in an interview. With the added square footage, the campus’ space will be the equivalent of 180 football fields.

Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella has been trying to shake up work culture at the world’s largest software maker, turning it into a more open and collaborative environment with fewer employees sequestered in closed-door offices. The new design also features a community space for 8,000 to 12,000 people in an open-air plaza and outdoor areas including running and walking trails, sports facilities and green spaces. The company has about 47,000 workers in Washington state.

“We've focused on the cultural transformation of the company. We want to create a workspace that supports the culture we are creating,” Smith said. “A workspace that encourages people to be creative, to work with each other and to learn from each other.”

The buildings will be closer together, and parking that is currently adjacent will be moved underground. Overall, the campus will be designed more for pedestrians and usage of the local light rail, which will reach the campus by then based on the region’s current plan. The project will create about 2,500 new construction and development jobs, Microsoft said.

Downtown Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. in September said it was planning a sprawling second headquarters in another location, and later received proposals from more than 200 cities vying for the project. Unlike Amazon, Microsoft felt no need to look elsewhere, Smith said. Bloomberg reported in 2015 that the company was considering this campus overhaul.

The changes will replace the original X-shaped buildings where co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates moved the company in 1986, shortly before Microsoft went public. The layout of those buildings is so confusing that employees used to joke that finding an office was an intelligence test to see if you were fit to work at Microsoft. 

“Since I always failed that test myself, I am happy I am now qualified to work here,” Smith said.

One holdover from the original design will be Lake Bill, the small pond at the center of the old campus, whose name pays homage to Gates.

“Blockchain's a very interesting technology that will have some very profound applications for society over the years to come,” the billionaire said.

On Monday, bitcoin hit the $10,000 mark on the world’s biggest exchanges for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin started the year at below $1,000 and has climbed 50 percent in November alone. The current market cap of the cryptocurrency is about $167 billion.

“So is it a fraud? No. But these bubbles tend to end in tears. And I worry about how this bubble might end,” the billionaire said, referring to today’s bitcoin frenzy.

Financial experts, including bank executives, stockbrokers and investors have been split over the cryptocurrency.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has criticized bitcoin and called it a “fraud.” Notorious financier Jordan Belfort called initial coin offerings (ICOs) a scam. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales also warned investors from participating in ICOs.

At the same time, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the head one of the world's biggest sovereign funds, said he doesn't believe bitcoin is a “fraud,” urging the critics to be “open-minded.” Mike Novogratz, the former macro hedge fund manager at Fortress Investment Group, expects major institutional investors to start offering bitcoin or similar products as an investment option within six months.

More importantly, cryptocurrencies are gaining the attention of institutional investors. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) plans to list futures in the cryptocurrency as soon as in December. JPMorgan, the CEO of which promised to fire everyone who was involved in bitcoin trading, is mulling the idea of allowing its clients to trade bitcoin futures. Some investors are buying and launching their own crypto-funds.

Folds of Honor is a non-profit organization that works to provide educational scholarships for spouses and children of fallen and disabled soldiers. During the fundraiser, bd’s sold $2 pin-up slips in exchange for $5 gift cards valid toward another visit to the restaurant. All of the campaign donations and 10 percent of bd’s sales generated on Veterans Day went directly to Folds of Honor.

“Bd’s is honored to be a part of such an amazing organization,” said Joe Phraner, President and COO of bd’s Mongolian Grill. “We are grateful for the opportunity to support our nation’s heroes and their loved ones through educational opportunities.”

In 2016, Folds of Honor awarded more than 3,600 scholarships, contributing to the 10,000-plus scholarships granted since 2007.

“We can’t thank bd’s enough for their help and dedication to our organization. Their continuous support has made all the difference in the lives of Veteran families,” said Major Dan Rooney, Founder of the Folds of Honor Foundation. “It is with the help of organizations such as bd’s that we are able to give back to the families who sacrificed everything.”

In 2017, bd’s raised a total of $45,057.74 for the Folds of Honor Foundation, funded through a combined effort of its Memorial Day campaign and Veterans Day campaign. For more information or to locate a bd’s Mongolian Grill near you, visit www.gomongo.com. For more information about the Folds of Honor Foundation, visit https://www.foldsofhonor.org.

Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh said that he sees the visit as an opportunity to advance the friendly relations and cooperation between Mongolia and Slovakia, and the bilateral Economic Forum to be held during the visit as a chance for businesses and enterprises to enter a new market.

“Aside from the priority areas - trade and economy, Mongolia and Slovakia can cooperate in food, animal husbandry, land farming, information technology, mining and other areas of mutual interest,” the Prime Minister noted.

Deputy Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini conveyed the greetings of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, saying that the visit will open a new page in bilateral relations. He expressed Slovakia’s interest in increasing bilateral trade turnover and working together in food, agriculture, information technology, e-governance and other areas. The two countries will continue the existing student exchange program.

While the company has already had reduced costs across its Australian businesses over the past five years, it’s now hoping to lower unit costs by further 10% in the medium term, BHP Minerals Australia president Mike Henry said Tuesday.

At the same time, BHP plans to lift its Australian iron ore production "run rate" to 290 million tonnes a year by the end of fiscal 2019, Henry said during a briefing in Adelaide. This, as the mining giant sees prices for iron ore and metallurgical coal rebounding sharply in two months, as buyers look to replenish stocks.

Once again BHP showed one of its favourite commodities in which to base future growth is copper, mostly due to the expected uptake of electric vehicles and renewable energy.

The company also pointed to a shortage of the red metal emerging by the early 2020s and says $100 billion in new mine spending is needed to meet demand over the next 15 years.

For now, BHP is pushing ahead with a study into a $2.1 billion expansion of its Olympic Dam copper, gold and uranium mine in South Australia.

The company already is in the midst of its biggest annual investment spending at Olympic Dam, rebuilding its smelter and targeting high-grade ore deposits through the expansion of its underground mine.

It will increase copper production from 166,000 tonnes last financial year to 230,000 tonnes in 2020.

In 2020, BHP’s board is expected to make a final investment decision on a $2.1 billion expansion that would lift production to 330,000 tonnes by 2023.

The reform is intended to enable the Mongolian credit industry to manage debtor insolvencies and collections in more effective, efficient and responsible ways. It will strengthen a critical piece of financial infrastructure, particularly for the financing of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It will also complement other areas of reforms that are being undertaken by the government to drive economic growth.

Going ahead, the project will focus on strengthening the legal and regulatory framework by updating the current bankruptcy law. In addition, it will develop capacities and standards for Mongolian insolvency professionals and promote non-judicial means of insolvency resolutions and improving debt collection standards.

"Strengthening bankruptcy legislation and improving the debt resolution system is one of the key elements of the government's plan to modernize Mongolia's legal framework by 2020. A good insolvency framework will facilitate the quick resolution of non-performing assets in the banking industry, support entrepreneurship and provide confidence to investors", said G. Bayasgalan, State Secretary of MOJHA, "With IFC's help, we will be able to incorporate international best practice in this reform and train a critical mass of insolvency professionals".

"We are pleased to start this new initiative with our partner MOJHA," said Tuyen D. Nguyen, IFC Resident Representative in Mongolia. He added, "International experience suggests that insolvency framework is a necessary foundation for the financial markets to function efficiently and safely. Most importantly, it will provide rules and standards for a quick resolution of the overly indebted individuals and SMEs, and enable the creditors to exit from problem loans in an orderly fashion."

This project in Mongolia is being supported by a Korea Trust Fund in the World Bank Group. IFC has successfully assisted dozens of financial infrastructure reforms in emerging markets related to secured transactions and movable asset finance development, credit reporting system, and bankruptcy and debt collection framework. Effective insolvency system helps to reduce uncertainty and potential risks faced by lenders and investors with predictable debt collection and recovery process. It also supports entrepreneurship by giving the insolvent business individuals reasonable exits and a fresh re-start.

The Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission was established 17 years ago. The Commission has been responsibility for providing guidance and care for Mongolian and Tibetan people in Taiwan, preserving Mongolian and Tibetan culture, cultivating talents, studying Mongolian and Tibetan culture, and participating in humanitarian aid, economic trade, academics, cultural and medical exchanges with overseas Mongolian and Tibetan communities.

According to the Mongolian and Tibetan Society official website, on July 11, the Executive Yuan announced that MTAC will be dissolved, transferring many responsibilities to the Mainland Affairs Council's (MAC) Department of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs, which will take the new name of the Department of Hong Kong, Macao, Mongolia and Tibet.

Shi Nengjie, chief executive of the Executive Yuan said, "After the withdrawal of the MTAC, various efforts will be conducted for the preservation of Mongolian and Tibetan culture, a responsibility that will be transferred to the Ministry of Culture. Messages from Mongolians and Tibetans in Taiwan will be collected and analysis will be moved to the Mainland Affairs Council... The posts will be shifted to the MAC and the MOFCOM respectively. An additional Mongolian-Tibetan cultural center will be set up in the Ministry of Culture.

Li Junlian, a Democratic Progressive Party legislator, said, "Mongolia and Tibet will be abolished as Taiwan's relations with Mongolia and Tibet change with time and space."

Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was reported to have argued that it was “no longer necessary” to have a commission to deal with matters relating to Mongolians and Tibetans since Mongolia was now an independent country while Tibet was seeking to gain similar status.

The penetration of fixed lines in Mongolia has increased strongly over the past five years as a higher proportion of residences decide to take a fixed line access option. Penetration is however predicted to only increase slightly over the next five years to 2022. There is a continued migration from fixed-line services to mobile operators that have a much higher availability in the rural areas and access to applications and services in the urban areas. 

Fixed broadband penetration in Uzbekistan remains low mainly due to a limited number of fixed lines and the dominance of the mobile platform. However the market has grown very strongly over the past five years from a very small base. Over the next five years to 2022 moderate growth is expected to continue. A major driver of broadband growth among the general population will be affordable access to relevant content. 

Mongolia's mobile market has experienced relatively slow growth over the past five years in a relatively mature market. High mobile penetration levels in Mongolia are also indicative of healthy competition. Slow to moderate growth is predicted over the next five years to 2022. The market will be constrained from higher growth due to strong local competition and a further maturing market. 
Mobile broadband has become an increasingly attractive proposition due to the increasingly faster speeds offered coupled with improving tariffs due to strong competition among the four mobile network operators. Mobile broadband subscriptions grew rapidly commencing in 2012, with this growth attributed to the increasing popularity of 3G mobile broadband products. 

The launch of 4G LTE services by all the major operators in 2017 will see the uptake of mobile broadband customers continue to grow strongly over the next five years to 2022. 
In April 2017 the Mongol Sat-1 platform was launched in partnership with Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS). It is Mongolia's first satellite to support domestic telecoms, broadband and television services including TV, internet, radio, e-services and government links. The satellite will help to reach users in isolated rural areas of the country.

Yokozuna Grand Champion Harumafuji has admitted to assaulting lower-ranked Takanoiwa in a lounge bar.

A Mongolian newspaper, the Daily News, reported that when an advisory body to the Japan Sumo Association met on Monday, many members called for Harumafuji to be severely punished. The paper said both wrestlers would face tough measures.

The News MN website reported that the advisory body may urge Harumafuji to retire or suspend him from tournaments for a long time.

A man in Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, said Harumafuji beat Takanoiwa because the lower-ranked wrestler did not respect his senior.

Another man said he wants the yokozuna to continue his sumo career in Japan, and he hopes that a positive solution can be found to settle the case.

On the secondary market for government bonds, 130 bonds with a value of MNT12.6 million were traded.

The MSE ALL Index decreased by 0.47 percent to stand at 1,267.19 points. The MSE market cap stands at MNT 2,416,918,138,048.