With Sino-American trade tensions escalating, China’s cybersecurity standards could be used as an “invisible tool” for retaliating against Washington’s tariffs, according to one expert. Such standards are government-issued operational guidelines that are technically voluntary, but are oftentimes treated as mandatory by foreign firms’ Chinese business partners. If Asia’s largest economy were to weaponize the listing […]
Month: April 2024
European stocks open slightly higher as Turkey crisis weighs on sentiment
Shares in Europe open slightly higher Wednesday as concerns over the Turkish currency crisis continue to affect investors’ appetite. However, trading flows were also sluggish as a number of European bourses are closed due to a public holiday, including Italy, Greece and Austria. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up by 0.18 percent with most sectors […]
Market wants ‘decisive action’ so Turkey needs to raise rates: Yale economist Stephen Roach
Turkey’s central bank needs to raise interest rates to contain the country’s financial crisis, veteran economist Stephen Roach told CNBC on Monday. Earlier in the day, Turkish lira dropped to a new all-time low of 7.24 against the U.S. dollar. It later pared some of those losses to trade around 6.99. “The markets clearly want much more decisive action,” […]
The most franchised company in the world isn’t McDonald’s or Starbucks
Despite the seeming ubiquity of McDonald’s Golden Arches and the Starbucks’ twin-tailed mermaid, sandwich chain Subway actually has the most locations of any restaurant worldwide. In 2017, Subway had 43,912 stores around the world, beating second-place McDonald’s at 37,241 and third-place Starbucks at 27,339 locations. This number, however, belies the economic reality: while McDonald’s and […]
Urea dysfunctions in the liver may signal cancer
A new study, now published in the journal Cell, suggests that the way in which the human body processes nitrogen may be key to finding new ways of detecting and destroying cancer. Nitrogen is a gas that is vital for all organisms. Both plants and animals need it in order to make proteins. When our […]
Diets ‘devoid of vegetable matter’ may cause colon cancer
A new study emphasizes the importance to gut health of eating plenty of vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and kale. selection of greens Eating brassicas such as collards, kale, and broccoli may protect against colon cancer. Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute in London, United Kingdom, found that keeping mice on a diet rich in […]
Vitamin D: Recent research uncovers new benefits
As much of the world experiences a record-breaking heat wave, this Spotlight turns its attention to vitamin D, the so-called sunshine vitamin. Here, we inspect the latest research. Tropical sun The “sunshine vitamin” has a range of surprising benefits. Vitamin D is a hot topic currently, with a raft of studies proclaiming its benefits for […]
Mass hysteria: An epidemic of the mind?
An outbreak of fatal dancing fits among members of the same community, men suddenly gripped by the sickening fear of losing their genital organs, and teenagers having mysterious symptoms after watching an episode of their favorite TV series — these are all instances of what we often refer to as “mass hysteria.” overhead shot of […]
What are the long-term side effects of birth control?
Hormonal methods of birth control are considered safe for most people. But is there a limit to how long you can safely use birth control? Some people take the birth control pill for much of their adult lives without a break. Others use long-term hormonal contraception devices, such as intrauterine devices (IUDs), that can stay […]
Tinder founders sue parent companies Match and IAC for at least $2B
A group of Tinder founders and executives has filed a lawsuit against parent company Match Group and its controlling shareholder IAC. The plaintiffs in the suit include Tinder co-founders Sean Rad, Justin Mateen and Jonathan Badeen — Badeen still works at Tinder, as do plaintiffs James Kim (the company’s vice president of finance) and Rosette […]