Since the start of the military phase of the Ukraine crisis in 2014, Kiev has received active support from the United States and its allies. The West's strategy in the structural confrontation with Russia is aimed at defeating our country without getting involved directly in the conflict. This hybrid confrontation…
The research team, led by the University of Cambridge, adapted an algorithm originally designed for humans and found it could automatically detect and grade heart murmurs in dogs, based on audio recordings from digital stethoscopes. In tests, the algorithm detected heart murmurs with a sensitivity of 90%, a similar accuracy…
According to economic historian Dr. Chris Miller, “You can’t understand the modern world without putting chips at the center of the story.” That conviction led Miller, an associate professor at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, to research and write the…
Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Recently, several high-profile U.S. organizations have backtracked on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments. Rural chain store Tractor Supply said it would eliminate…
Quick Hits A Massachusetts appellate court found that a retention bonus did not constitute “wages” within the definition of that term set forth in the Massachusetts Wage Act. The court acknowledged that there are no Massachusetts cases that have held that a retention bonus is a “wage” within the meaning…
John Judis and Ruy Teixeira heralded a new age of US politics in their 2002 book, The Emerging Democratic Majority. The book predicted that the growing Latino population, coupled with a clear Democratic lead in many other growing segments of society, would strengthen the party’s hold on the US electorate…
Private credit has become a more popular financing option across many industries and types of businesses—and the opportunity for investors to deploy this approach is growing. In this episode of Deal Volume, McKinsey’s podcast on private markets, McKinsey partner and host Brian Vickery speaks to Vivek Mathew, president and head…
The treatment – known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) – involves placing an electromagnetic coil against the scalp to relay a high-frequency magnetic field to the brain.Around one in 20 adults is estimated to suffer from depression. Although treatments exist, such as anti-depressant medication and cognitive behavioural therapy (‘talking…
Employee dismissal backfires: worker wins unfair dismissal claim against employer after being fired for insulting a customer. A recent Employment Tribunal case has drawn attention to the importance of correct disciplinary procedures, after a worker who was summarily dismissed for calling a customer a t*** wins nearly £5,500 for unfair…
Leadership happens in groups, as does most work. Without followers, who and what are we leading? As such, leaders must understand what groups need if they want to maximise performance. While most leaders should be familiar with the idea of executive coaching on an individual basis, they may know less…
The consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) and retail industries are entering an era marked by a focus on growth and a search for value. The past decade has been particularly challenging, with population growth slowing and consumer attention fragmenting. To respond, companies must push an ambitious dual agenda, as McKinsey outlined in a…
The juxtaposition of these two opposite trends produces a rather specific effect: countries, their elites, and even ordinary citizens are trying to find some kind of solution that would allow them to at least look into the future with relative confidence, without constantly looking back in anticipation of some kind…
In an era characterized by an overwhelming influx of new product launches and constant, in-your-face advertising, the concept of underconsumption has emerged as a compelling countertrend. Underconsumption – broadly defined as the practice of using fewer resources and making more deliberate purchases – is gaining traction in the beauty industry,…
Scott Graham, Unsplash In 2016, the Defend Trade Secret Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1836 (the “DTSA”), passed Congress and went into effect. At its heart, it effectively codified the Uniform Trade Secrets Act at the federal level, creating a federal cause of action. Prior to the enactment of the DTSA,…
Quick Hits OFCCP recently released a new construction scheduling letter and itemized listing, corresponding frequently asked questions (FAQs), and a renewed and revised Form CC-314, for covered construction contractors to notify OFCCP of new federal or federally assisted contracts or subcontracts in excess of $10,000, also known as the Notification…
Quick Hits Employers may not inquire about an applicant’s conviction history before the applicant is determined to be otherwise qualified for a position, except when required by local and federal law. Employers are barred from asking, seeking from any source, or using as a factor in determining any condition of…
By Robert Fernando CFA | 09 Sep, 2024 The usually quieter summer months for financial markets stirred to life with concerns over central bank policy, a slowing US economy and corporate earnings guidance.The fall in equity markets during mid-July spilled into early August and by the 5th, the S&P 500…
For many people with cancer, IV infusions of chemotherapy are their best chance at a cure. But these infusions can be inconvenient or inaccessible to patients, and some complications arise not from the active drug itself, but the infusion. Turning these drugs into pills could be transformative. In a study…
Quick Hits Documenting both the business reasons for a RIF and the objective criteria used to select employees for termination is crucial to mitigating the risk of discrimination claims and other legal challenges. Employers may want to note the various federal and state legal requirements, such as the WARN Act…
MOLLY WOOD: Juan, thanks so much for joining me. JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: Thank you, Molly, for the invitation. MOLLY WOOD: So when you think about the reason you have the Microsoft AI for Good Lab, what would you say is the high-level mission? JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: So our mission is to help the…
An overview of Google Research and why research is having ever more real-world impact.
This commentary was adapted from episode 147 of the Health & Veritas podcast. Subscribe for weekly doses of expert insight on health and the healthcare industry. For most of the 21st century, there have been 10,000 to 50,000 pertussis cases every year in the U.S. Pertussis, also known as whooping…
Tucked into page 59 of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was a short but consequential section titled “amortization of research and experimental expenditures.” It changed how companies operating in the U.S. are taxed for their spending on research and development. Before the amendment, they could deduct 100% of…
On December 23, 2022, President Biden signed the “James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023” which, among many other things, amended Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12 U.S.C. Section 1829 (FDIA), to reduce hiring barriers across the financial services sector. As a result…
Quick Hits A female employee was not entitled to an “all the way to the top” compensation adjustment in a gender discrimination case, where the comparator was the highest-paid colleague worldwide, a German Regional Labor Court ruled. However, the female employee was awarded higher remuneration in accordance with the discrepancy…
Exports from Vietnam to the United States have grown significantly since America’s trade war with China began in 2018. At the same time, Vietnam has been importing more Chinese goods. This has led many to question: is “Made in Vietnam” really “Made in China"? Not as much as the public…
Digitization, rapid advancements in AI technologies, and slower gains in power usage efficiency have significantly escalated the demand for data centers, with major implications for global power market dynamics. In Europe, demand for data centers is expected to grow to approximately 35 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from 10 GW…
Indonesia, which has tens of thousands of islands and archipelagos, has been known for hundreds of years as a maritime country. Indonesia's geographical position in the tropics, located at the crossroads between two continents (Asia and Australia), and two oceans (Indian and Pacific), certainly has economic potential and presents strategic…
If you have an ambition but no plan behind it, you’re probably not going to get the results you’re looking for. According to recent McKinsey research on the UK economy, the highest-performing UK companies have grounded their ambitions in a set of five conditions—looking at investors, incentives, sources of growth, partnerships,…
Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series Patrick George/Ikon Images Purposeful play is a critical behavior for executives facing disruptive change. In good old-fashioned play, the goal isn’t to win or lose. It isn’t to achieve…
What You Need to Know: Governor Newsom recently signed new laws – SB 1105 and AB 2499 – which extend and clarify employees’ available reasons for use of California paid sick leave (PSL). The changes go into effect on January 1, 2025. As we previously detailed, at the end of…
Quick Hits As Election Day—Tuesday, November 5, 2024—draws near, employers are considering their leave obligations. Various state, local, and municipal election-related laws have implications for multistate employers’ compliance plans. Notice posting and political speech laws also have implications for employers’ compliance plans. Leave Obligations There are three key issues employers…
To grasp the future of business, look to AI-native organizations: from processes to products, these companies are infusing every facet of their operations with AI. In a previous newsletter, I wrote about common ways that AI natives work differently. Today I’m zooming in on one company I find particularly compelling:…
Millions of Americans, from hourly retail staffers to corporate vice presidents, wrestle with the demands of work while parenting young children, caring for a sick spouse or aging parent—or both.That juggling act is made even tougher by rigid practices and rules set by employers, such as inflexible or unpredictable work…
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.What keeps capital project leaders awake? Ishaan Nangia: What we hear consistently from capital project leaders is that there is a huge amount of value attached to their capital management system. Between 2022 and 2027, about $130 trillion of capital will be spent,…
Thirty years ago, I graduated from college, got my first job in software sales and was given three things: a $1 million quota, a CRM and a (desk) phone. Fast forward to 2024, that same new graduate entering software sales would get the same $1M quota. But he’d also get…
A review of the last few quarters, in which economic activity has slowed while continuing to grow Economic activity continued to grow in France in second-quarter 2024 but slowed slightly, up 0.2% in volume (qoq) after a 0.3% increase in the first quarter. However, the drivers of this growth proved…
Political and business media, pundits, and experts continue to cite prediction market odds as a credible forecast for the upcoming presidential election, regularly pointing to betting odds on prediction markets such as Polymarket, Kalshi, PredictIt, and Interactive Brokers as a guide to who is up and down in the horse…
Philip G. Zimbardo, one of the world’s most renowned psychologists, died Oct. 14 in his home in San Francisco. He was 91. Broadly, Zimbardo’s research explored how environments influence behavior. He is most known for his controversial 1971 study, the Stanford Prison Experiment, with W. Curtis Banks, Craig Haney, and…
24 October 2024By Matthias RumpfPeople have tended to be quite hesitant to trust banks abroad. That seems to be changing. In a post featuring interactive charts for you to explore, The ECB Blog shows that cross-border bank deposits of private households have picked up recently. To what extent are euro…