Business, Management, Marketing, Money, Tax, Law, People

Honorary degree recipients for 2025 announced

During the Encaenia ceremony on Wednesday 25 June, degrees will be awarded to Dame Jacinda Arden, Lord Melvyn Bragg, Clive Myrie, Professor Serhii Plokhii, Professor Timothy Snyder, Professor Colm Tóibín, Sir Mo Farah, Professor Robert S Langer and Professor Erwin Neher.Ticket registration will open on the 6 May for staff, Congregation, students, Oxford University alumni, retired members of Congregation and academic visitors. We are sorry that tickets to the ceremony…

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China: The calm before the storm?

A strong start to the year…First-quarter growth came in at 5.4%, ahead of consensus expectations. This growth was driven by industrial production, which quickened sharply in March, up 7.7% (compared with 5.9% in the January-February period), buoyed in particular by the solar panel, electrical appliances and components, and transport equipment sectors. However, the main positive surprise was retail sales, which were up 5.9% year on year in March, compared with 4%…

  • Post category:Credit Agricole
  • Reading time:7 mins read
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Expert Comment: How can we encourage engagement with online fact-checking?

In today’s polarized online landscape, fact-checking has become a vital tool for countering misinformation. But for fact-checks to make a difference, people have to actually pay attention to them.A widely held assumption is that corrections are more effective when they come from someone who shares your political views. But is shared ideology really what makes people listen?People were significantly more likely to reply to or otherwise engage with a correction…

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Fishing bans help kelp forests withstand marine heatwaves

In briefli]:su-m-0">Kelp forests around the world will be exposed to more frequent and intense marine heatwaves in the coming decades because of climate change.Marine heatwaves have already diminished kelp forests and caused kelp-eating sea urchin populations to boom off the California coast.Protecting marine predators like spiny lobsters and California sheephead can help kelp recover by keeping sea urchins in check.Marine heatwaves that seemed extreme just a decade ago will become…

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New ultrasound drug delivery system found to be highly effective against bacterial biofilms

Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed a new drug delivery system using ultrasound-activated nanoparticles to break through and destroy bacterial biofilms. This offers a promising solution that could address the global crisis of chronic antibiotic-resistant infections affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Professor Eleanor Stride. In up to 80% of chronic infections, bacteria form biofilms – a slimy substance secreted by the bacteria which forms a protective…

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Charles Darwin Archive recognised by UNESCO

The UNESCO Memory of the World Programme serves as the documentary heritage equivalent of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, protecting invaluable records that tell the story of human civilisation.A collaboration between Cambridge University Library, the Natural History Museum, the Linnean Society of London, English Heritage’s Down House, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the National Library of Scotland, the Charles Darwin documentary heritage archive provides a unique window into the life…

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The War of Narratives: Geography as Another Battleground

If McKinley symbolizes “greatness” for Trump, Mexico embodies many of the country’s problems. Back in 2015, when announcing his first presidential campaign, Trump declared: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best... They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” While the idea of renaming the Gulf was first floated at Trump’s press conference on January 7, 2025, it’s likely that the president had long been bothered by the reference…

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Diplomacy in a Multipolar World: A Return to Professionalism?

On April 21, on the eve of the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace, which is celebrated under the auspices of the UN, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion titled  “The Boundaries of Reason: The Diplomat’s Work in New Realities.” The moderator of the discussion, Anton Bespalov,called the fading of traditional diplomacy in the West and its flourishing in the Global South an important element of the new…

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Semiconductors have a big opportunity—but barriers to scale remain

Globally, semiconductor companies plan to invest about $1 trillion through 2030 in new fabrication plants (fabs), and the global annual revenue of the industry is expected to reach more than $1 trillion by 2030. This does not include the significant potential revenue from the adoption of gen AI according to even modest upside scenarios. Beyond satisfying market demand, these investments will also help regions increase supply resilience across the semiconductor value…

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Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming Enact Laws Defining Male and Female

Quick Hits Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming lawmakers recently enacted state laws recognizing only two genders, male and female. The state legislators acted after President Donald Trump issued an executive order establishing that the federal government’s new policy is to recognize only two sexes, male and female, despite contravening federal law. The three states restrict transgender and nonbinary individuals from using public school bathrooms and locker rooms that align with…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read
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Empowering telecom employees with personalized AI-powered training and coaching tools

On this page: Opportunity | Solution | Impact 0 ptincrease incustomer satisfaction (NPS)0Kservice agentstrained in first round0%increase infirst-time resolution rates YoY The Opportunity Giving individuals the skills they need, when they need them Deutsche Telekom serves a vast customer base, including 23.5 million private customers, 2.4 million SMEs, and 300,000 organizations across Germany. With more than 15,000 call center agents and 5,500 field service agents on the ground, the telecom…

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Millions could lose free preventive health services if SCOTUS upholds ruling

A study by the Stanford Prevention Policy Modeling Lab (PPML) finds that almost 30% of privately insured individuals in the United States, or nearly 40 million people, use at least one of the free preventive health services guaranteed under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).But those services are now under threat by an ongoing legal challenge.On April 21, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management Inc. to decide whether to…

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In Support of Serendipity

Amazon, Netflix, Spotify and TikTok – three global platforms that harness recommendation algorithms to keep giving consumers more of what they want. Their success is a testament to the incredible potential of this technology to enhance the consumer experience. The value of being recommended a new film, your next book, a great song or even a funny cat video, selected to perfectly match your mood and tastes, seems unquestionable.However, in…

  • Post category:INSEAD Knowledge
  • Reading time:7 mins read
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Programme of the 2nd “Valdai – New Generation” Conference

Programme of the 2nd “Valdai – New Generation” Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club Moscow, April 23 – 25, 2025   From April 23 to 25, the Valdai Discussion Club will host a conference for participants of its Valdai – New Generation project at its Moscow headquarters. Valdai – New Generation is a dynamic community of researchers under 35, united by their pursuit of innovative solutions to the most pressing…

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Global Lighthouse voices: A talk with Bosch Mobility China COO Norman Roth

At Bosch Mobility’s Suzhou factory (a member of the Global Lighthouse Network designated in 2021), the integration of lean principles and Industry 4.0 technologies has transformed operations, enhancing efficiency and sustainability. The use of AI for predictive maintenance and automated optical inspection has boosted productivity and failure pattern identification, and extensive virtual simulations have enabled the site to achieve more efficient ramp-ups in the production of mobility solutions. Talking with…

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State Privacy Regulators Announce Formation of Privacy ‘Supergroup’

Quick Hits State attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, New Jersey, and Oregon, as well as the California Privacy Protection Agency, announced the formation of the “Consortium of Privacy Regulators.” While the creation of the Consortium does not reflect a closer alignment in the contents of the actual consumer privacy laws themselves, it will likely heighten regulators’ abilities to enforce those elements of consumer privacy law that are…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:3 mins read
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Throwing a ‘spanner in the works’ of our cells’ machinery could help fight cancer, fatty liver disease… and hair loss

Scientists at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Mitochondrial Biology Unit, University of Cambridge, have worked out the structure of this machine and shown how it operates like the lock on a canal to transport pyruvate – a molecule generated in the body from the breakdown of sugars – into our mitochondria.Known as the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier, this molecular machine was first proposed to exist in 1971, but it has taken…

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Tariffs and global trade: The economic impact on business

Since the United States’ announcement of reciprocal tariffs on April 2, 2025, financial markets around the world have seen heightened volatility, raising concerns about the impact on the global economy. The combined tariffs enacted by the US government since that date have rapidly raised the country’s weighted-average tariff rate to its highest level in the past 100 years, from approximately 2 percent at the start of 2025 to more than…

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‘Engineering is fundamentally about solving problems’

In the “Research Matters” series, we visit labs across campus to hear directly from Stanford scientists about what they’re working on, how it could advance human health and well-being, and why universities are critical players in the nation’s innovation ecosystem. The following are the researcher’s own words, edited and condensed for clarity.My lab develops technologies to make drugs work better. We design new additives that improve the formulation, stability, and…

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Joy is an Inside Job: Art, Gratitude and Cultivating Resilience

What does it take to cultivate joy—not as a fleeting feeling, but as a steady presence—even in times of deep uncertainty? In this luminous conversation, Dr. Heidi Brooks is joined by psychologist and author Emma Seppälä and artist Clara Nartey to explore the resilient, regenerative power of joy. With insights drawn from neuroscience, personal experience and artistic practice, Emma and Clara reflect on how inner sovereignty—the ability to return to…

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Crossing Back into the U.S.? Expect Eyes on Your Devices

Under U.S. customs and international laws[1], border agents have the legal authority to inspect, search, or detain any person, luggage, or merchandise coming into or leaving the country. And yes, that includes your electronic devices like phones, tablets, and laptops. While searches of digital devices are still relatively rare, they are increasingly becoming more common at U.S. ports of entry. That is why it is especially important for all travelers…

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:11 mins read
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Democratic Lawmakers Urge U.S. Department of Labor to Abandon Proposal to Dismantle OFCCP

Quick Hits A group of forty lawmakers from the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Labor urging her to abandon proposed plans to drastically reduce and restructure OFCCP. The lawmakers raised concerns that the cuts could leave federal contractor workers vulnerable to potential discrimination. The letter comes amidst other OFCCP-related efforts by lawmakers, including the introduction of legislation to codify now-revoked…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:3 mins read
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Low money market volatility benefits monetary policy transmission

18 April 2025By Fédéric Holm-Hadulla and Sebastiaan PoolCentral banks usually seek to align very short-term interest rates in the money market with their own policy rate. But money market rates fluctuate also for reasons other than policy. This blog shows that monetary policy is more effective if such fluctuations are small.Discussions about monetary policy usually centre on whether interest rates should go up, down or stay the same. The complexities…

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Alok Sama on corporate finance in the fast lane

Alok Sama spent years in corporate finance as a managing director at Morgan Stanley before joining Softbank as CFO and plunging into founder-CEO Masayoshi Son’s world of high-speed, high-risk decision-making. For Sama, the shift involved many eye-opening experiences, which he later shared in a memoir titled, The Money Trap: Lost Illusions Inside the Tech Bubble (St. Martin’s Press, 2024). In this episode of Inside the Strategy Room, Sama speaks with…

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Beyond automation: How gen AI is reshaping supply chains

Companies are striving for end-to-end visibility, efficiency, and agility in their supply chains. Yet outdated infrastructure, fragmented data, and supply chain disruptions make these goals difficult to achieve. Can gen AI bridge the gap? In this episode of McKinsey Talks Operations, host Daphne Luchtenberg speaks with Knut Alicke, author and leader of McKinsey’s Supply Chain Executive Academy; Alberto Oca, McKinsey partner and coleader of digital warehousing in North America; Asaf Somekh,…

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Amanda Lewis joins Q5 as Chief Financial Officer

Accelerating Q5’s growth through expert financial leadership We’re excited to welcome Amanda Lewis as our new CFO. With over two decades of experience, Amanda brings deep expertise in financial strategy, M&A, and scaling high-performing teams. She’ll play a crucial role in driving Q5’s global expansion and supporting our goal to double in size sustainably by 2030. Reading time: 2 minutes We’re delighted to announce that Amanda Lewis has joined Q5…

  • Post category:Q5 Partners
  • Reading time:2 mins read
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Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir on marketing in product-led growth

In this episode of McKinsey on Building Products, McKinsey partner Rikki Singh sits down with Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir, chief marketing officer at Atlassian. With her varied background, Ozdemir helps her marketing team apply innovative, data-driven insights to their product-led-growth (PLG) approach. During their conversation, Singh and Ozdemir discuss the role marketing plays in Atlassian’s PLG efforts; how product, marketing, and sales teams can collaborate to achieve big goals; and how…

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KIPAC + Friends Community Day welcomes all to share in the magic of science discovery

The Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC) invites community members of all ages to the KIPAC + Friends Community Day on Saturday, April 19, from 1 to 5 p.m. This year’s event will be bigger and better than ever, thanks to involvement from KIPAC scientists and colleagues from across the Stanford science and engineering communities.“So many of us in KIPAC were inspired to study science because of a…

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Returning Spirit of Diplomacy: The Significance of the Bandung Conference Anniversary

In terms of geoeconomics, Asia has grown increasingly strategic. The emergence of China, India and other new economies like Indonesia has put Asia in a strong position to support global expansion and to encourage collaboration with African nations. The most recent development is the growing possibility of South-South cooperation through diplomacy in the spirit of the Bandung Conference. The engagement of Indonesia's younger generations will provide innovation and new perspectives.…

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Embracing innovation for outcomes-based delivery

A path to transformative Public Services As Diamond Sponsor of Innovation 2025, we engaged with leaders across government to explore the future of public service. In this article, five of our public sector experts share their key takeaways, covering leadership, strategy, culture, storytelling, and AI to offer practical insights on building a more agile, outcomes-focused state. Reading time: 6 minutes In today’s rapidly evolving public sector landscape, innovation can no…

  • Post category:Q5 Partners
  • Reading time:8 mins read
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German Federal Labor Court Finds Certain Virtual Stock Option Forfeiture Clauses May Unreasonably Disadvantage Employees

Quick Hits The German Federal Labor Court ruled on March 19, 2025, that certain forfeiture clauses in General Terms and Conditions of Business regarding the expiration of virtual stock options upon termination of employment are invalid. The court found that such forfeiture clauses unreasonably disadvantage employees by not adequately considering the work already performed and the associated entitlement to the options. International companies might benefit from decoupling employee ownership at…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read
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Offensive Terms to Avoid: What You Say Matters More Than You Think

According to SHRM, 66% of U.S. employees have experienced or witnessed incivility in their workplace. The most common forms include addressing others disrespectfully and interrupting others while they are speaking. Meanwhile, a Deloitte survey reveals that 84% of respondents prioritize improving their well-being, with 74% considering it more important than advancing their career. This underscores the growing emphasis employees place on workplace well-being and respect. Let that sink in: Respect…

  • Post category:Civility Partners
  • Reading time:4 mins read
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The US retirement industry at a crossroads

The past decade has been exceptionally favorable for US defined contribution (DC) retirement plans. The retirement solutions providers—also known as retirement recordkeepers—that administer DC plans on behalf of various employers have experienced consistent revenue growth over this period, as plans have become more accessible and equity market performance has been strong. Now, things are changing. The retirement industry is approaching a tipping point due to demographic shifts, industry developments, and…

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Mouse study suggests a common diabetes drug may prevent leukaemia

Around 3,100 people are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) each year in the UK. It is an aggressive form of blood cancer that is very difficult to treat. Thanks to recent advances, individuals at high risk of AML can be identified years in advance using blood tests and blood DNA analysis, but there’s no suitable treatment that can prevent them from developing the disease.In this study, Professor George Vassiliou…

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Extreme drought contributed to barbarian invasion of late Roman Britain, tree-ring study reveals

The ‘Barbarian Conspiracy’ of 367 CE was one of the most severe threats to Rome’s hold on Britain since the Boudiccan revolt three centuries earlier. Contemporary sources indicate that components of the garrison on Hadrian’s wall rebelled and allowed the Picts to attack the Roman province by land and sea. Simultaneously, the Scotti from modern-day Ireland invaded broadly in the west, and Saxons from the continent landed in the south.Senior…

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Talking with Flywire CFO Cosmin Pitigoi

One of the key challenges finance departments face is connecting the various bits of data generated when money moves into or out of the business. This is especially true for small and midsize businesses. Although a profusion of digital payments providers has cropped up to help such companies, many systems generating data from money movement don’t talk to a company’s other systems—at least not well. In this episode of Talking…

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Update on Missouri’s Proposition A: Status of Earned Paid Sick Time Law

Quick Hits Proposition A requires Missouri employers to provide notice by April 15, 2025, summarizing employees’ entitlement to earned paid sick time, starting May 1, 2025. The Supreme Court of Missouri is reviewing a legal challenge to Proposition A that seeks to invalidate the law because it allegedly violates the Missouri Constitution. The Missouri General Assembly—Missouri’s state legislature—is considering multiple bills that would affect the paid sick time benefits provided…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:8 mins read
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Building bridges toward career opportunities for millions of Americans

On this page: Opportunity | Solution | Impact 0Kworkforce developmentteam members0.7M people across the US & Canadasupported annually$0Bannual earningsgenerated by 2028 The Opportunity Addressing changing workforce needs The US labor market is rapidly evolving, driven by the rise of automation and AI, changes in federal spending, and demographic shifts including a swiftly growing aging population. The result is a fundamental shift in workforce priorities with the economy likely to see…

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New study reveals how to make prescribed forest fires burn safer and cleaner

Prescribed burns literally fight fire with more fire. Often referred to as a “beneficial fire,” they target areas at risk for wildfires and burn away material that could otherwise fuel a future blaze.However, all fires, whether accidental or planned, produce smoke that can cause health and respiratory issues, especially in nearby communities. Burning fires release harmful chemicals, like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), that are carcinogenic – PAHs can cause cancer,…

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From the War Against Russia to the War Against China. American vs. Russian ‘Nationalism’

Trump's Foreign and Military Policy  In a series of articles, even before the announcement of Trump's tariffs, we examined the foreign and military policy of the US President.  The contradictions in Trump's policy support the view that his goal, along with the faction of big Capital that has rallied behind him and Mr. Netanyahu, is a strategic retreat. They realise that the West is not capable of achieving the objectives…

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