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Introducing Azure AI Foundry Labs

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of Azure AI Foundry Labs, a hub for developers, startups, and enterprises to explore groundbreaking innovations from research at Microsoft. Today we’re launching Azure AI Foundry Labs, a hub for developers, startups, and enterprises to explore groundbreaking innovations from research at Microsoft. Foundry Labs unites cutting-edge research with real-world applications, to enable developers and creators across industries to discover new possibilities, solve complex problems,…

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Elon Musk Is Kicking Down the Barn, Not Building a Better Government

This commentary originally appeared in Newsweek. The views expressed are the author’s own. Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency is not about reforming anything. It’s about cutting costs indiscriminately and gaining control over all the levers of government power. The result is that vital activities are being hastily cut alongside superfluous ones.‌ Understandably, change is needed across the federal government, and not just to address the budget deficit. But…

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Lessons from the Lighthouses

After six years, the Global Lighthouse Network (GLN) has expanded from 16 to 189 Lighthouses, representing factory, sustainability, and end-to-end value chain categories across 33 countries and 35 subsectors—four times greater than the number of subsectors in 2018 (Exhibit 1). The latest 36 Lighthouses—awarded in October 2024 and January 2025—have not only followed the playbook but are continuing to innovate. They illuminate three leading-edge lessons: They are tackling the digital…

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A Simple Thumbs Up or Down Eliminates Racial Bias in Online Ratings‌‌

On a scale of one to five, how was your omelet? Your car rental experience? Your dentist, your doctor? How was your water bottle purchase? Your shoe purchase? Your microwave purchase and your home purchase? ‌ “These ratings are not only ubiquitous but take many forms,” says Prof. Tristan Botelho. But he has doubts that evaluators use different rating scales in a consistent way. “You have to do a lot…

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Senate hears update on federal policy matters, approves research policy changes

The Faculty Senate approved proposed modifications to the Research Policy Handbook from the Committee on Research and received an update from the president and provost on federal policy matters during its meeting Thursday.Federal policy updatePresident Jonathan Levin highlighted concerns about federal support for university research that have been exacerbated by staff reductions at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). “The indirect cost reduction that…

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SCO and the Democratisation of the Global Financial System

Development of digital currencies Aside from the payment systems, digital currencies, including central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and cryptocurrencies, constitute another pillar of the economic resilience of the SCO. China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Russia have already launched CBDC operation and Belarus is in the pilot phase. The SCO is ahead of other regions, which can create a considerable comparative advantage. Central bank digital currencies might strengthen national sovereignty while…

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‘What Is a Woman?’ Alabama Governor Signs Bill Declaring There Are Only Two Sexes

Quick Hits Alabama’s “‘What Is a Woman?’ Act” applies “wherever state law classifies individuals on the basis of sex or otherwise mentions individuals as being male or female, men or women, or boys or girls.” According to the act, there are only two sexes: male and female. Under the act, public entities may establish certain single-sex spaces or environments without running afoul of anti-discrimination laws. The act becomes effective on…

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Product of Canada vs Made in Canada: What are the requirements for Canadian country of origin claims?

With growing consumer demand for Canadian-made products, companies are choosing to make various forms of Canadian country of origin claims on products, e.g. “Product of Canada”, “Made in Canada” etc. (Canadian Product Claims). Companies should be aware that different laws and regulations1 may apply to Canadian Product Claims, and this will depend on the type of product (e.g. food vs non-food), the type of claim made (i.e. “Product of” vs…

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Announcing the 2025 Imagine Cup semifinalists

We’re excited to announce the next phase of the 2025 Imagine Cup – meet the startups who were selected to advance to the Semifinals! These student founders are the future, and their innovative ideas are sure to capture your interest and perhaps spark your own new idea. The semifinalists will receive advice and guidance through personalized mentorship and additional benefits within Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub to help further develop…

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Why managing culture is critical for value creation in M&A

An organization’s culture—or the common set of behaviors, mindsets, and beliefs that shape how people work and interact—is a driving force for its success. In companies with strong cultures, employees at all levels understand the business’s mission and purpose, how decisions are made, how performance is measured, and individuals’ roles in achieving critical organizational objectives. It’s always surprising, then, when culture is overlooked in discussions about M&A. Typically, the focus…

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Gaza as an Arena for the US Promotion of Middle Eastern Economic Peace

As an attempt to appeal to pan-Arabism, albeit with no international legal basis, Donald Trump's idea of ​​transferring control over the Gaza Strip to the US, in economic respects, resembles past regional initiatives such as those put forward during his first presidential term. In this regard, regardless of the prospects for implementation, this version of post-conflict development of the Palestinian enclave can be considered another step in outlining the contours…

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UK peatland fires are supercharging carbon emissions as climate change causes hotter, drier summers

More fires, taking hold over more months of the year, are causing more carbon to be released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.Fires on peatlands, which are carbon-rich, can almost double global fire-driven carbon emissions. Researchers found that despite accounting for only a quarter of the total UK land area that burns each year, dwarfed by moor and heathland, wildfires that burn peat have caused up to 90% of annual…

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Early Elections in Germany and the Global Turn to the Right

On February 20, 2025, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion ahead of the early Bundestag elections, titled “The Phenomenon of Modern Germany: Where Is German Politics Heading?” Fyodor Lukyanov, the moderator of the discussion, noted that the political situation in Europe is currently changing. The era of stable governments is fading into the past, and this is a characteristic of the new international environment. Judging by the fact that…

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TotalEnergies’ tightrope transition: A talk with Patrick Pouyanné

Among oil and gas majors, TotalEnergies stands alone in its plans to shift a fifth of its business to renewable-led integrated power by 2030. It’s a tightrope walk for the company’s long-time CEO Patrick Pouyanné—essentially a strategy that’s not “enough oil and gas” for traditional investors nor “enough renewables” for green ones. But after a decade in charge, the Frenchman is thinking about his legacy and remains confident his is…

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How to Embed Purpose at Every Level

Research Highlight Leaders must find ways to execute on sustainability aspirations throughout the organization, including prioritizing investments and optimizing operating plans. Stuart L. Hart February 20, 2025 Reading Time: 21 min  subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Aad Goudappel/theispot.com Thoughtful business leaders today recognize that the social and environmental challenges the world now faces require nothing short of a fundamental reorientation of the company. Business purpose must flip from maximizing short-term profit to…

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What’s the key to successful Retail M&A?

The critical role of people and culture in retail mergers and acquisitions Summary: Many Retail & Consumer M&A deals fail to realise full value due to overlooked people and culture factors. With rising costs and strategic shifts, businesses must balance integrations with maintaining brand DNA, consistency of culture, while ensuring people remain focussed on core delivery. Q5 helps organisations embed a people-centric approach to maximise synergies and drive long-term success.…

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Florida Enacts Immigration-Related Laws Expanding Law Enforcement, Restricting In-State Tuition, and Increasing Criminal Penalties

Quick Hits Under recently enacted state legislation, undocumented immigrants in Florida will no longer be eligible for in-state tuition benefits at public colleges and universities. Any undocumented immigrant convicted of a capital felony will face the death penalty. A new State Board of Immigration Enforcement will be created, and more than $298 million will be allocated to law enforcement for immigration-targeted hiring and training, including bonuses to officers who cooperate…

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(Country of) origin story: Navigating country of origin claims in Canada and at the U.S. border

The simmering trade war launched by the U.S., Canada’s closest trading partner, is pulling Canadian producers in different directions. On the one hand, Canadian businesses are concerned – and rightly so – that their exports to the U.S.–protected by bilateral and regional trade agreements for nearly forty years – may soon be subject to hefty tariffs. On the other, there is growing – and unprecedented – consumer demand for “Canadian” products.…

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Microsoft at Legalweek: Help safeguard your AI future with Microsoft Purview​

Generative AI is reshaping almost every industry and the legal field is no different. A Thompson Reuters Institute study of legal professionals found “a remarkable 79% of law firm respondents anticipate AI will have a high or transformational impact on their work within the next five years—a significant 10-point increase from 2023.”1 There are many promising opportunities to streamline workflows and drive efficiency by bringing AI into legal and litigation workflows.…

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IOI awards £5m to Oxford consortium to develop new therapies for drug-resistant tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is the oldest and most deadly disease in human history, causing over 1.2 million deaths every year. TB is an infectious airborne disease that mainly affects the lungs. It is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb).The main treatment option for TB is long courses of multiple antibiotics. However antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – a process in which bacteria have developed the ability to resist the action of medicines…

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Consumer goods: Seeking market expansion and growth

The industry overview The consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) industry has historically outperformed most other industries, thanks to high growth and consistent margins. But since 2012, the formula has broken down. Several factors, including inflation (which affects both consumer spending and corporate cost), market saturation, intense competition, changing consumer tastes and behaviors, and a fragmented consumer base have presented challenges for growth. Additional headwinds include climate change, which affects key ingredients, including cocoa.…

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Those who work less worry more: the effect of lower workloads on consumption

20 February 2024Pedro Baptista, Colm Bates, António Dias da Silva, Maarten Dossche and Marco WeisslerEuro area firms hold on to their workforce, despite poor economic conditions. For a significant share of workers this means a lower workload than usual. In turn, many put more money aside as they worry about job security and wages, as the ECB Blog shows.When the economy slows down, so does labour productivity. This link is…

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Generative AI tool marks a milestone in biology

Imagine being able to speed up evolution – hypothetically – to learn which genes might have a harmful or beneficial effect on human health. Imagine, further, being able to rapidly generate new genetic sequences that could help cure disease or solve environmental challenges. Now, scientists have developed a generative AI tool that can predict the form and function of proteins coded in the DNA of all domains of life, identify molecules…

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Lifestyle and environmental factors affect health and ageing more than our genes

The researchers used data from nearly half a million UK Biobank participants to assess the influence of 164 environmental factors and genetic risk scores for 22 major diseases on ageing, age-related diseases, and premature death. The study is published in Nature Medicine.Key findings:environmental factors explained 17% of the variation in risk of death, compared to less than 2% explained by genetic predisposition (as we understand it at present);of the 25…

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Seyfarth Creates Two C-Suite Roles to Lead Innovation Efforts

NEW YORK – February 19, 2025 – Seyfarth Shaw LLP, a pioneer in legal innovation for over two decades, announces the creation of two key leadership roles that reinforce the firm’s longstanding commitment to technology, AI, data-driven insights, and design strategy. Byong Kim will be the firm’s first Chief Data & AI Officer (CDAIO), and Zeynep Ersin will be the first Chief Innovation & Strategic Design Officer (CISDO). In the…

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The return of the steel tariffs

In two separate “national security” proclamations issued last week, the President of the United States “restored” tariffs on steel and aluminum that it had imposed on these same articles in 2018 and had suspended following agreements with the affected parties. One of those parties was Canada. One of those agreements was the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, negotiated by President Trump. This is what President Trump had to say about the CUSMA…

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3 ways to improve access to justice through court modernization

The legal maxim that “justice delayed is justice denied” has long been a rallying cry to encourage judges and courts to operate more efficiently. If legal redress or fair relief are potentially available to an injured party but aren’t promptly provided or supported, that is effectively no remedy at all. Today, the need for accessible and fair judicial systems is at least as relevant as when William Penn voiced it…

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Global energy and materials: Overall deal value remains stable, but some segments are gaining share

The industry overview M &A activity in the global energy and materials (GEM) sector remained muted in 2024. The number of deals increased about 12 percent, and deal value grew from $722 billion in 2022 to $808 billion in 2024, consistent with 2023 figures. Deal value in 2024 was still 14 percent lower than it was in 2021 (in nominal terms). The Americas region was the major driver of deal…

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Forcing UK creatives to ‘opt out’ of AI training risks stifling new talent, Cambridge experts warn

The UK government should resist allowing AI companies to scrape all copyrighted works unless the holder has actively “opted out”, as it puts an unfair burden on up-and-coming creative talents who lack the skills and resources to meet legal requirements.This is according to a new report from University of Cambridge experts in economics, policy and machine learning, who also argue the UK government should clearly state that only a human…

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The Many Faces of Neocolonialism and Modern Africa

On February 19, 2025, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion, titled “Neocolonialism in African Countries: Modern Context”. Moderator Oleg Barabanov, programme director of the club, called the topic of neocolonialism very acute for almost all African countries and emphasised that the solidarity that Russia shows to African countries in the fight against neocolonialism is extremely important and significant, as it genuinely resonates on the continent. Konstantin Pantserev, professor at…

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Dealmaking through challenges: Lessons from the automotive industry

There has always been an elemental symmetry to M&A: A seller concludes that a business or asset does not fit its enterprise portfolio, and a natural buyer recognizes that the same target is a strategic match. Put simply, there’s a buyer for every seller, or so the logic goes. However, the ideal does not always meet the reality. Despite a recent increase in M&A activity across many sectors during 2024…

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How Leaders Champion Culture: Six Essential Lessons

Topics Culture Champions Building a healthy culture is one of the most important — and hardest — leadership jobs. These articles, based on a webinar series and research by Donald Sull and CultureX, share actionable advice from leaders whose cultures produced exceptional business results and a world-class employee experience. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Aleksandar Savic Most companies espouse an official corporate culture. We studied nearly 700 large…

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A new level unlocked

Today Microsoft released Muse, a first-of-its-kind generative AI model that we are applying to gaming. But it’s so much more than that. What we’re sharing today is a huge step forward for gameplay ideation. And what’s even more exciting is what this breakthrough represents in our journey of building and using generative AI, and what industries, developers and creators of all interests will be enabled to do next. The impressive abilities…

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Are Trump’s Tariffs Repairing Market Failures or Eroding Global Trust?

This commentary originally appeared in Fortune. The views expressed are the authors’ own. With reports of widespread business uncertainty and confusion leading to an unanticipated 10-year record plunge in January dealmaking, air is rushing out of business’s balloon of early euphoria for the Trump agenda. President Trump’s language of schoolyard bullying and vindictiveness toward our closest allies undermines those moves where his lieutenants at the Treasury and Commerce Departments may…

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Financial services: Dealmakers adapt to a shifting landscape

The industry overview M &A in the financial-services industry is recovering from the global slowdown of 2023. Monthly deal value in 2024 returned to the average monthly value of the prior five years, and total deal value for 2024 was 30 percent higher than that seen in 2023. Nine out of ten financial-service deals in 2024 were made within national borders—up from six out of ten in 2021—reflecting global economic…

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Lord Hague’s Chancellor admission speech

Lord Hague of Richmond has been officially admitted as Oxford’s 160th Chancellor in a ceremony that took place at the Sheldonian Theatre today after winning the election for the Chancellor of the University of Oxford role in November 2024.Õrātor Publice, ita exordīrī velim ut grātiās tibi ex animō agam, ut quī tali benignitāte sīs locūtus, adeōque familiāriter salūtātiōnibus, adeō cūrātē officiīs decōrīs operam dederīs,  quae laudem quandam peperērunt huīc Ūniversitātī. Vice-Cancellāriae quoque…

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Stanford faculty elected to the National Academy of Engineering

Stanford faculty members Jennifer Cochran and Christopher Manning have been newly elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). This honor is among the highest professional distinctions accorded engineers and recognizes accomplished experts from business, academia, and government.“As a member of the National Academy of Engineering, these professionals belong to a select group of national and international peers who advance the welfare and prosperity of the nation by providing independent…

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Monetizing Data With AI: MIT CISR’s Barb Wixom

Topics Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy The Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy initiative explores the growing use of artificial intelligence in the business landscape. The exploration looks specifically at how AI is affecting the development and execution of strategy in organizations. In collaboration with More in this series Get updates by email Please enter a valid email address Thank you for signing up Privacy Policy Barbara (Barb) Wixom, principal research…

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New York Public Employers Face New Workplace Violence Prevention Duties

Quick Hits Expanded Risk Evaluation: Public employers will have to include “abusive conduct and bullying” in their workplace risk evaluations. Enhanced Reporting Systems: Existing reporting systems for incidents of aggressive behavior will have to be amended to include reporting “abusive conduct and bullying.” Broader Training Requirements: Existing training requirements will be expanded to require training on how to identify, prevent and report workplace “abusive conduct and bullying.” Lack of Definitions:…

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Lord Hague officially admitted as Oxford University’s Chancellor

In his speech, Lord Hague said: ‘I thank all of you, the Convocation, for electing me as your chancellor and for your enthusiastic welcome in recent weeks. Every visit I have made so far and every conversation, has intensified my excitement about the years to come. I happily dedicate myself today to working with you and for you.’What happens here is more fundamental to British prosperity than it has ever…

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