In The News

World's Bond Markets: Bloomberg

John Ainger July 15, 2019
Bonds are generally considered safe investments, and demand pushes yields down. Confronting low wages and low inflation, central banks struggle to raise interest rates. The number of negative-yield bonds is growing: These are worth less than the principal invested when held to maturity. Governments may take on excessive debt as bond issuers essentially charge investors for holding their money....

Why Some People Avoid News: NiemanLab

Joshua Benton July 13, 2019
The internet gives people access to more news from around the globe than ever before. The supply of troubling news is never-ending, and news avoidance is on the rise, reports Joshua Benton for NiemanLab at Harvard University. A 2017 study found the leading reason for avoidance is news triggering bad moods followed by worries that reports are untrue. Anecdotal reports suggest many people regard...

Vaping More Dangerous Than First Realized: Vox

Julia Belluz July 12, 2019
Using smokeless tobacco use is healthier than smoked tobacco, and marketing relies on that premise. But that does not mean smokeless tobacco carries no risk, and public health experts express concerns that the products include a range of additives and aerosol particles, with marketing that targets youth: “[R]esearchers around the world are now scrambling to figure out what impact this new habit...

Global Corporate Tax System: Financial Times

José Antonio Ocampo July 12, 2019
The world’s largest economies can rescue globalization by tackling inequality and reforming the international taxation system. In 2013, the OECD improved information exchange. Still, multinationals, especially digital firms, rely on subsidiaries to minimize taxes with as much as 40 percent of profits going to tax havens. India is among the countries pressing for reform and suggesting large...

Climate Fluctuations and Crops: Science Daily

July 11, 2019
The agriculture industry must contend with volatile weather patterns. A study from Columbia University's International Research Institute for Climate and Society, the International Food Policy Research Institute and other partners has determined that crop failures in distant parts of the world may be related, with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation responsible for simultaneous crop failures in...

Global Pollution Observatory: Wired

Zak Jason July 8, 2019
Diseases caused by pollution kill more than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Known pollutants reduce individual intelligence and contribute to $5 trillion annually in productivity losses and healthcare, explains Zak Jason for Wired. Few choose or want to live near sources of pollution that foul air, waterways and land for homes and food, but avoiding toxins can be difficult because more...

Plant Trees for the Climate Crisis: Guardian

Damian Carrington July 6, 2019
The most cost-efficient way to tackle climate crisis – temperature spikes, rising seas, flooding and droughts – is planting more trees. A research team suggests that 1.2 trillion more trees could be added to about 10 percent of Earth’s land without disrupting agriculture. “New research estimates that a worldwide planting programme could remove two-thirds of all the emissions that have been pumped...