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Asia: The epicenter of global trade shifts

The world remains deeply connected by virtue of global trade, but the geometry of economies’ connections has been shifting. Some major economies are moving toward trading more with geopolitically closer partners, while others continue to deepen their international trade networks both geographically and across the geopolitical spectrum. Asia is at the forefront of this shifting geometry of global trade in all its shapes. How changing trade patterns will play out…

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
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Why competition with China is getting tougher than ever

3 September 2024By Alexander Al-Haschimi, Lorenz Emter, Vanessa Gunnella, Iván Ordoñez Martínez, Tobias Schuler and Tajda SpitalEuro area exporters are facing tougher competition from China. But why is that? The ECB Blog looks at the important role played by price competitiveness and the ongoing industrial upgrades being made in China.Euro area manufacturers have long benefited from Chinese exports, such as using cheap parts to produce their own finished products. In…

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How your mindset could affect your response to vaccines

It’s that time of year again – vaccine season. While most people can appreciate that vaccination is an amazing achievement, their enthusiasm might falter when it comes time to schedule and receive their own. And new research suggests that might influence how the vaccine affects them. Recently, researchers at Stanford University, Miami University, and the University of California, San Francisco, studied the effects of different types of positive and negative…

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Anti-inflammatory drug could reduce future heart attack risk

A cancer drug that unlocks the anti-inflammatory power of the immune system could help to reduce the risk of future heart attacks, according to research part-funded by the British Heart Foundation. By repurposing an existing drug, researchers hope it could soon become part of routine treatment for patients after a heart attack.The findings will be presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in London by Dr Rouchelle Sriranjan, NIHR…

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Strategic Significance of PM Modi’s Moscow Visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow, his first visit to Russia in five years, signifies the strategic importance India places in its relationship with Russia. This visit comes at a crucial time when India is perceived to be tilting towards the West, especially in the context of its foreign policy, which is aimed at counterbalancing China's influence. The visit underscores the multifaceted and evolving nature of India-Russia ties, which…

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Laid-Off Workers Gain Influence on Social Media, Raising Concerns for Employers

Some laid-off workers are becoming social media influencers, telling their layoff stories to thousands of followers and outsiders. Former employees generally are not prohibited from criticizing their former employer on social media if their comments are true and not defamatory. To protect their brand and public image, companies can offer severance agreements, including nondisparagement clauses, to laid-off workers. Hundreds of thousands of employees were laid off in 2023, especially in…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
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Giving back by changing minds

Each year we’ve hosted select non-profit leaders from around the NYC area to share some of what we know about effective leadership. These leaders range from global entities such as the World Bank Group, Global Business Coalition for Education, UNICEF and their Education Cannot Wait initiative. They come from key New York city departments such as the NYC Public Schools, and NYC School Health. They lead regional organizations serving youth…

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Advancing cloud platform operations and reliability with optimization algorithms

“In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, we see a growing number of services and environments (in which those services run) our customers utilize on Azure. Ensuring the performance and security of Azure means our teams are vigilant about regular maintenance and updates to keep pace with customer needs. Stability, reliability, and rolling timely updates remain “In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, we see a growing number of services and environments…

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Judge Temporarily Pauses Parole in Place Program for Undocumented Spouses and Stepchildren

After the Parole in Place Program (“Keeping Families Together”) went into effect on August 19, 2024, sixteen State Attorneys General filed a complaint against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) et. al. The complaint alleges that the program is unlawful and will cause irreparable harm to the states that filed the complaint. On August 26, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas administratively stayed DHS…

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Anatomy of a copilot

If you’re struggling to understand what AI can do for your business, I’d argue the place to start is understanding the most powerful tool in your toolbox.  My job involves helping businesses successfully bring AI to work, and I talk to customers every day. In these conversations, many of the folks I speak with focus on foundational models, typically the large language models (LLMs) that help power AI assistants.  But LLMs—which have…

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Coffee Badging and Employee Monitoring Coincide in Modern Workplaces

To technically comply with new return-to-office requirements, some workers are entering their physical offices, clocking in, and leaving just a few hours later. To understand how frequently this is occurring, employers are permitted to use technology to verify on-site attendance and duration of attendance. Corporate leaders and managers can align as to how many hours in the office are sufficient to meet the company’s requirement for on-site work. In the…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
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Transforming Central America’s workforce and productivity with gen AI

The business world is still coming to grips with the seismic potential of generative AI (gen AI). According to the McKinsey Global Institute, the technology could contribute $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy. In addition, 50 percent of work activities could be automated from 2030 to 2060, a trend that gen AI is poised to accelerate. However, one does not need to look to the future…

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How Consumer Behaviour is Helping to Drive Circularity

With the need to tackle global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution, circularity is becoming increasingly important for businesses and organisations around the world. France has set the standard when it comes to legislation shaping the use of refurbished devices, and Lenovo is also rolling out circular solutions such as Certified Refurbished in other countries around Europe. Circularity is also important for individuals, however, and consumer…

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Filling In the Harris-Walz Economic Policy Scorecard

This commentary originally appeared in Fortune. As presidential campaigns race to the close, the electorate moves past gauzy themes and adversarial finger-pointing, which tell us little about candidates’ plans, to examine differences in goals and policies. Previously, we analyzed the paradoxical positions of Donald Trump’s pro-business, laissez-faire, global burden-sharing presumptions—and the realities of the contrasting MAGA-Marxist pronouncements they conceal: record fiscal deficits, interventionist and politically motivated attacks on companies, threats…

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Managing the Human Risks of Biometric Applications

Frontiers The intimate surveillance afforded by biometric technologies requires managers to consider negative impacts on privacy and human dignity. Andrew Park, Jayson Killoran, and Jan Kietzmann August 29, 2024 Reading Time: 9 min  Topics Frontiers An MIT SMR initiative exploring how technology is reshaping the practice of management. More in this series Gary Waters/Ikon Images In April, Colorado became the first state to mandate that companies protect the privacy of…

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Military Alliances of the Great Powers

The world has been and continues to be driven by three famous elements of Realism; “self-help, statism, and survival,” writes Major General (Retd) Raza Muhammad, President of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute. Historical Background For centuries, military alliances have remained a fundamental aspect of statecraft and international relations. The rise of collective security in the face of the larger powers in ancient Greece formed the bedrock of military alliances and…

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What It Means for Companies to Act Their Age

David Senior Every business experiences a life cycle, transitioning from a startup through growth and maturity, and eventually decline. While no leader wants to see their business in decline, the best response to aging as a business is to accept that it’s happening and run the company to reflect its age. There are several factors that induce companies to fight aging, sometimes with success. Some are rooted in psychology: Shrinking…

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Illinois Steps Up AI Regulation in Employment: Key Takeaways for Employers

Quick Hits Illinois’s new AI regulations under HB 3773 take effect on January 1, 2026, giving employers a limited window to prepare for compliance. The law broadly defines “artificial intelligence” to include any machine-based system that generates outputs influencing employment decisions, with no specific exemptions provided. Employers must provide notice to employees if AI is used in recruitment, hiring, promotion, or other employment-related decisions. HB 3773 represents an additional AI-related…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
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Shoot for the Stars: What to Know About the Space Economy

A new space race—one fueled more by commercial conquest than intergalactic domination—is charting solutions to pressing problems in national security, climate change, and communication.With costs poised to drop and innovation on the rise, the economics of cosmic exploration and commerce are rapidly changing. Harvard Business School Senior Associate Dean Matthew Weinzierl’s new research explores the business opportunities hidden among the stars, particularly in data from and through space, but also…

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The gen AI skills revolution: Rethinking your talent strategy

If every company needs to be a software company, do you have a software organization that can deliver? The answer to that question could be decisive for the future of many companies.The ability to compete depends increasingly on how well organizations can build software products and services. Already, nearly 70 percent of top economic performers, versus just half of their peers, use their own software to differentiate themselves from their competitors.…

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  • Reading time:15 mins read
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Seeing Peer Ratings Pushes Professionals to Align Their Evaluations

Few people like to consider themselves followers, but when it comes to evaluating goods, services, and even our own colleagues, it turns out many of us are. That matters because collective evaluation processes—whether a restaurant’s ratings on Yelp or performance reviews at work—can play a significant role in sinking or launching a product, service, or someone’s career. New research from Yale SOM’s Tristan Botelho shows how the design of evaluation…

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Future of Sanctions Policy in a Multipolar World

Based on the foregoing, and taking into account countries’ experiences between 1992, when the unipolar world was established, and 2024 – namely, that the initiators of draft resolutions in the UN Security Council on restrictive measures were Western countries, we can assume that such attempts will continue in the future; we should not expect changes in Western sanctions policy, Milana Živanović writes. On May 30, 1992, amid the war in…

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Global timber supply threatened as climate change pushes cropland northwards

The sight of vineyards in Britain is becoming more common as hotter summers create increasingly suitable conditions for growing grapes. But behind this success story is a sobering one: climate change is shifting the regions of the world suitable for growing crops.Researchers at the University of Cambridge have uncovered a looming issue: as the land suitable for producing our food moves northwards, it will put a squeeze on the land…

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How Workplace Safety Improves Performance

Frontiers OSHA’s longest-serving administrator identifies safety approaches that work — and those that don’t. David Michaels August 28, 2024 Reading Time: 10 min  Topics Frontiers An MIT SMR initiative exploring how technology is reshaping the practice of management. More in this series Neil Webb/theispot.com Chasing lower labor costs, most of the United States’ toy and game companies have relocated production outside the country, primarily to Asia. One of the only…

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Wage and Hour Around the Corner: DOL Issues Guidance on Wage-Hour Risk Posed by Artificial Intelligence

The rules governing the employment relationship are always changing. Laws creating new employer obligations, technology solutions making work more efficient and more complicated, and rules governing the resolution of disputes between employers and their workers are around every corner. Wage and Hour Around the Corner is a new blog series for employers, in-house lawyers, and HR, payroll, and compensation, that helps employers stay on the cutting edge of wage and…

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An Australian designer of street fashion is an early adopter of generative AI, with caveats

A few months ago, Marcus Crook had an idea for the Melbourne streetwear label and social enterprise HoMie, where he is co-founder and creative director.    He opened Microsoft Copilot in Windows and typed: “1990s metal band style font with the word ‘HoMie’ in one color screenprint, with distressed effects, black font on a white background.”    Copilot, a generative AI assistant, produced some simple, cartoon-like images, which Crook transferred into editing…

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The one chart that shows you don’t have to panic if stock markets fall

Global stock markets fell sharply on 5 August 2024, causing concern for investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its worst day in around two years and the Japanese stock market saw its biggest drop since Black Monday in 1987. As an investor, it’s natural that you may be concerned about this uncertainty. After all, you’re likely to have invested so you can grow your wealth to achieve your financial…

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5 ways Microsoft Azure can reimagine student experiences and streamline operations

Microsoft Azure enables educational institutions to adapt to new realities, improve operations, and protect student and faculty information from cyber threats. In today’s rapidly evolving world, education is facing unprecedented challenges that require transformation. Microsoft plays a pivotal role in providing the tools and resources schools need to create a more inclusive, equitable, and effective education environment. With AI-powered, secure, and flexible solutions, Microsoft Azure enables educational institutions to adapt…

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Understanding Anti-Dilution Clauses

Dilution occurs when a company issues new shares, reducing the ownership percentage of existing shareholders. This typically happens during fundraising rounds when new investors come on board, or through employee stock options, convertible securities, or mergers. Dilution can significantly impact an existing shareholder’s control over the company and its share of future profits. Imagine you own 10% of a company with 1,000 shares, meaning you hold 100 shares. If the…

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How Asia is harnessing AI for social good

The UN Sustainable Development Goals were set to be achieved by 2030—yet only 17 percent of SDG targets are on track. In Asia, research has shown that the region will only achieve the SDGs by 2062 if it carries on its present trajectory. Can AI play a meaningful role in accelerating Asia–Pacific’s initiatives to achieve the goals and improve people’s lives while protecting biodiversity? In this episode of the Future…

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One term of empathy training measurably improved classroom behaviour

An analysis of a short programme teaching empathy in schools has found it had a positive impact on students’ behaviour and increased their emotional literacy within 10 weeks.The findings come from an evaluation of the “Empathy Programme”: a term-long course developed by the UK-based Empathy Studios. The research was conducted with support from academics at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge.Empathy Studios develops school-based, video-led programmes which aim to…

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An AI platform tailored for the enterprise

Cohere is carving a name for itself in the exploding AI market by focusing squarely on business clients and collaborating with major companies such as Google, Amazon, Oracle, and Microsoft, among others. Founded in 2019 by college friends Aidan Gomez, Nick Frosst, and Ivan Zhang, the company maintains offices in Toronto, San Francisco, New York, and London.Gomez sat down with McKinsey senior partner Ben Ellencweig, who leads alliances, acquisitions, and…

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How Human-Informed AI Leads to More Accurate Digital Twins

A hybrid approach that combines human knowledge and machine learning delivers better results for mission-critical simulations. Pushkar P. Apte and Costas J. Spanos August 27, 2024 Reading Time: 7 min  Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images “OK, Houston, we’ve had a problem here,” said astronaut John Swigert in 1970, after an explosion disabled the Apollo 13 spacecraft on its way to the moon, 200,000 miles from Earth. Those iconic words…

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AI’s impact at 3 industry-leading companies

While generative AI is still a relatively new technology, data from McKinsey & Company1 suggests that 2024 will go down as a defining year for adoption. The percentage of organizations regularly using generative AI (65 percent) has nearly doubled in the past 10 months, and the number of organizations using it in two or more business functions jumped from one-third in 2023 to 50 percent this year. Businesses are also…

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A board-level view of cyber resilience

Amid growing corporate and public sector cyber breaches and recent high-profile technology outages, significant changes are occurring in both the role of boards in cybersecurity and within the cybersecurity industry itself. In this interview, McKinsey’s Sean Brown speaks with Vinnie Liu, the cofounder and CEO of the cybersecurity firm Bishop Fox, and McKinsey cyber-resilience experts Justin Greis and Daniel Wallance about how boards of directors should approach oversight of cybersecurity.…

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Cambridge Children’s Hospital moves ahead as plans for new hospital approved by ministers

Plans for Cambridge Children’s Hospital can move ahead following the news that the Outline Business Case for the project has been signed off by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The project has been given the green light to begin the detailed process of appointing a contractor, to build the ground-breaking new facility in 2026.The ministerial backing means that the…

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Skills Training Links Psychological Safety to Revenue Growth

Nick Lowndes/Ikon Images Many organizations around the world recognize psychological safety (PS) as being crucial for innovation, collaboration, and transformation. Briefly put, psychological safety describes an environment in which candor is expected and won’t be penalized. Although it’s often covered in leadership training, most organizations struggle to convert a theoretical understanding of PS into bottom-line results. We’ve found that this gap can be closed through skills training in the context…

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New Pathways to Meet Africa’s Challenges

Consider this: Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom currently uses more energy than the entire west African country of Sierra Leone. Despite Africa accounting for less than 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, many of its countries face significant threats from climate change, including increased droughts, floods, heat waves and potential crop failures.According to the African Development Bank climate change costs the continent US$7 billion to US$15 billion yearly, a figure projected to…

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