Frequently asked questions How is the company celebrating its 50th anniversary? Microsoft is commemorating our 50-year anniversary by celebrating the achievements of our employees, customers, and partners that have dreamt, built, and used Microsoft technology as a force for good, while also looking ahead to the future. Microsoft recognizes that…
Quick Hits President Trump removed NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox and discharged NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, marking a significant shift in the Board’s leadership. Wilcox’s removal leaves the NLRB without a quorum (minimum of three members) to hear cases, raising questions about the legality of the dismissal and potential court…
By 2040, Asia could contribute 42 percent of global GDP, be home to 60 percent of the Fortune Global 500 companies, and have 55 percent of the world’s total workforce. These factors form a favorable macro backdrop for Asian companies, driving the emergence of what we call Asian global players.…
The control panel to the human experience is hidden inside a bony box. We can thank our skulls for keeping our brains safe. But this protective case also makes the three-pound organ that generates our mental lives and behavior particularly challenging to study and treat. Add to this the sheer complexity…
Two major areas for consolidation leading from the Brazil G20 are a major motivation for reviewing past agreements and declarations, as well as the extent of past G20 resolutions: The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty and the incorporation of the voices of civil society and other engagement groups to…
The economy is not expected to have grown at all in Q4 2024 due to the boost from the Paris Olympics washing out. This would put full-year 2024 growth at 1.1%, unchanged year on year, mainly driven by foreign trade and public spending, with private domestic demand (excluding inventories) stagnating.…
We have finally left 2024 behind us and are looking forward to what the new year 2025–the Year of the Snake–will bring for China consumption. Looking back at 2024, we’ve seen a steep contrast between perception and reality. Consumer and business sentiment remains at an all-time low, and there is…
Trade relationships are continuing to reconfigure, and changing geopolitics is a major reason. The United States has continued to shift trade away from China and toward other economies such as Mexico and Vietnam. In some cases, this is due to these economies forming an intermediate step in trade flows between…
The increase in physical activity was mainly seen in those doing semi-routine occupations such as bus driving or hairdressing, and routine occupations such as cleaning or waiting, or technical jobs. There was little change seen among people entering managerial or professional occupations.People who work from home saw a decrease in…
In Future Motion, Inc. v. Lai, decided Jan. 7 by Judge Michael Simon (D. Or.) (appeal filed Wednesday), plaintiff sued defendant for patent infringement, and Judge Simon issued an injunction that purported to bind not just defendant but others: [I]n accordance with the Court's inherent equitable power to issue provisional…
Matt Harrison Clough In July 2024, an executive at luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari received several messages that appeared to have been sent by CEO Benedetto Vigna on the messaging and calling platform WhatsApp. The messages, which originated from an unfamiliar number, mentioned an impending significant acquisition, urged the executive…
Leaders of the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) outlined key student priorities, and President Jonathan Levin discussed potential impacts of the new presidential administration for Stanford during the Faculty Senate meeting on Thursday.In the student government’s annual report to the senate, ASSU President Diego Kagurabadza and Vice President Divya…
With the energy transition gathering pace, businesses are prioritizing cleaner energy sources and electrification to meet decarbonization goals and reduce energy costs. They are taking a more active role in managing their energy supply with the associated services, for example, through the direct procurement of clean energy via power purchase…
Beyond Town and Gown: Working Towards a More Inclusive Oxford outlines the collegiate University's commitment to making a positive contribution and creating opportunities for all in the city and county. A new report detailing Oxford University’s ambitious plans to support positive social, economic and environmental change in the city and county has…
The agreement establishes the GSK-Oxford Cancer Immuno-Prevention Programme, aimed at exploring the potential of cancer prevention through vaccination.The programme leverages the complementary expertise of GSK and Oxford in the science of the immune system, vaccine development and cancer biology. It is hoped that the insights generated through the programme into…
A major study of botanic gardens around the world has revealed their struggles with one fundamental aim: to safeguard the world’s most threatened plants from extinction.Researchers analysed a century’s worth of records - from 1921 to 2021 - from fifty botanic gardens and arboreta currently growing half a million plants,…
Emeritus Professor Paul Yock, MD, formerly the Martha Meier Weiland Professor in the School of Medicine, a professor of bioengineering and of cardiology, and founding director of Stanford Biodesign (now the Stanford Mussallem Center for Biodesign), traveled to Washington, D.C., earlier this month to receive the National Medal of Technology…
Quick Hits The deadline for filing the 2024 California pay reports is May 14, 2025, and the filing platform will open for new filings on February 3, 2025. California requires covered employers to file payroll employee reports for their own employees and requires covered employers to file labor contractor employee…
This article summarizes the Ontario Security Commission’s guidance on best practices for crypto asset trading platforms to ensure compliance with know-your-client, account appropriateness assessment, and client limit requirements. On December 10, 2024, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) released OSC Staff Notice 33-757, arising from a review of six registered crypto…
A compound with the unpresuming designation of EBC-46 has made a splash in recent years for its cancer-fighting prowess. Now a new study led by Stanford researchers has revealed that EBC-46 also shows immense potential for eradicating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. Compared to similar-acting agents, EBC-46 excels at activating dormant…
Quick Hits On January 16, 2025, the FTC and DOJ issued their “Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers.” The guidelines identify five nonexhaustive types of agreements and policies that may constitute violations of antitrust laws by hindering commercial competition and restricting the free movement of employees. The dissenting statement…
In the recent decision of Husky Oil Operations Limited v Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology Inc., 2024 ABCA 369, the Court of Appeal of Alberta cautioned against the enforcement of arbitration provisions on third-party beneficiaries to contracts. The Court declined to pronounce whether such enforcement was possible at all,…
In this edition of Author Talks, McKinsey Global Publishing’s Alexandra Mondalek chats with McKinsey senior partners Kweilin Ellingrud, Lareina Yee, and María del Mar Martínez about their new book, The Broken Rung: When the Career Ladder Breaks for Women—and How They Can Succeed in Spite of It (Harvard Business Review,…
Access to cash is critically important for medtech companies. Cash allows medtech leaders to acquire emerging technologies and develop their own new products, which in turn drives the kind of innovation that improves patient outcomes and boosts shareholder value. But many medtech organizations have too much of their cash tied…
I. Background In December of last year, the Alberta legislature passed a major overhaul of Alberta’s access and privacy legislation. Upon proclamation, Bill 33 and Bill 34 will split the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Act) into the new Access to Information Act (AIA)1 and Protection…
When companies embark on transformations, they naturally focus on the big picture: how a transformation will allow them to perform better through cost-out measures or how they can implement high-impact growth strategies to become bigger, leaner, and better. In companies’ rush toward change, however, they often end up overlooking or…
On January 23, 2025, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion dedicated to Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and Russia’s policy in the South Caucasus. The discussion was moderated by Oleg Barabanov, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club. Nikolay Silaev, Leading Researcher at the Institute for International Studies at MGIMO University, called…
Almost 58 years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech on poverty and racism, “The Other America,” at Stanford. This month – on King’s actual birthday, Jan. 15 – the Stanford community commemorated the event with a screening and discussion of King’s speech. Projected on a 16-foot-wide movie…
A highpoint of India’s G20 was the “Voice of Global South Summit (VOGSS)” held in virtual format. The first online VOGSS held in January 2023 with over 100 Global South nations participation helped India to get their views, some of which were incorporated in the Delhi Declaration released at the…
The judge described the executive order as “blatantly unconstitutional.” The executive order limiting birthright citizenship asserts that children born in the United States on or after February 19, 2025, who do not have at least one lawful permanent resident or U.S. citizen parent, will not have a claim to birthright…
The deadline for meeting reporting requirements of the Notice with respect to certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances issued by Environment Canada and Climate Change (ECCC) is Jan. 29, 2025 (the Notice). The reporting obligations and other details about the Notice can be found in our other article found here. With…
When you’ve discovered a valuable resource or service that could benefit your organization, getting buy-in from leadership is critical. Use this email template to propose Civility Partners’ services to your boss. Simply customize the placeholders with your own insights and ideas. Email Template Dear [Boss’s Name], Recently, I participated…
On February 4-5, the Valdai Discussion Club, in collaboration with the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, will hold its fourteenth Middle East Conference. The theme of the conference is “The Middle East – 2025: Learning Lessons from the Past, Surviving the Present, and Designing the…
US auto retailers have embraced multiple new technologies over the past decade, from next-generation core systems to AI and digital sales platforms. Yet, despite sometimes significant investments, dealer productivity has remained stuck in a rut, with vehicle sales per employee averaging between 14 and 16 each year. To boost technology’s…
Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Thanks to the deafening buzz around data science and AI, enterprise leaders no longer doubt the transformative potential of this…
Quick Hits Expanding business into the Middle East may require global employers to navigate unique challenges such as establishing a physical office presence, adhering to distinct workweek structures, and understanding regional tax policies. Employers must comply with requirements around hiring local nationals, employing public relations officers (PROs) for government interactions,…
On Dec. 16, 2024, the Government of Canada released its long-awaited 2024 Fall Economic Statement. The Statement reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to combatting modern slavery in global supply chains, currently given effect by the existing import ban on goods made with forced or child labour and the mandatory supply chain…
This commentary originally appeared in Time. President Donald Trump revealed on his first day that he may be closer to delivering on a campaign promise than skeptics believed. As we show in our new, original economic analysis, Trump has the levers to force Vladimir Putin to end the Russia-Ukraine war…
For Robert Hormats, two of the biggest geopolitical stories of the past decade are the retrenchment of globalization and the rise of a multi-polar world. He is well positioned to make that judgment. Hormats has been a senior official in the administrations of five different American presidents, including most recently…
Harlan Krumholz: Welcome to Health & Veritas. I’m Harlan Krumholz. Howard Forman: And I’m Howie Forman. We’re physicians and professors at Yale University and we’re trying to get closer to the truth about health and healthcare. Our guest today is Dr. Susan Mayne, but first we’re always checking in on…