Kyndryl is the new name for IBM’s managed infrastructure services business, which will spin off as a separate company by the end of 2021. Initially, little will change for customers — except perhaps the logo on their invoice — but in time Kyndryl’s split from IBM will allow both businesses to innovate and to work with new partners.

What does Kyndryl do?

Essentially, Kyndryl does exactly what the managed infrastructure services unit of IBM’s Global Technology Services segment did: outsource the management of enterprises’ IT infrastructure, whether it came from IBM or another vendor.

「小鳥はとっても歌が好き」。そんな童謡もありますが、実はあの鳴き声は、仲間に大切なことを伝達しているのかもしれません。鳥類のコミュニケーションを研究している動物行動学の鈴木俊貴さんに聞きました。

小鳥のシジュウカラは鳴き声を複雑に使い分けます。天敵を見つけて周囲に警戒を呼びかけるとき、ヘビなら「ジャージャー」、タカでは「ヒーヒー」。私はこうした鳴き声一つ一つに意味があるのではないかと考え、「シジュウカラ語」を研究しています。

シジュウカラに、録音しておいた「ジャージャー」を聞かせてみると、地面を見たり茂みをのぞいたり、まるでヘビが潜む場所を探すかのようにふるまいます。では、「ジャージャー」を聞いたとき、彼らはヘビの姿を思い描いているのでしょうか。ある実験で調べました …

SBI Holdings Inc. launched a public tender offer to acquire a near-majority stake in Shinsei Bank and make it a consolidated subsidiary to form a general financial group.

SBI, which is already Shinsei Bank’s top shareholder with a roughly 20 percent stake, announced on Sept. 9 that it will spend about 110 billion yen ($1 billion) to raise its stake in the bank to 48 percent.

The major online financial-service provider decided to launch the tender offer after Shinsei Bank refused to agree to SBI’s proposals for a capital and business alliance. The tender offer could become a hostile takeover depending on how the bank responds.