14Mar/23

Climate ‘danger zone’

March 14, 2023EnvironmentArticles, Bangladesh, Brazil, Climate change, Dhamrai, Freddy, Global warming, H&M, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Lula, Malawi, Mosabber Hussain, Mozambique, Natural environment, Nature, Nepal, Physical geography, Saleemul Huq, Saudi Aramco, Senegal, Shefali Akter, Sweden, Tahmid Zami, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Trinidad and Tobago, Vanessa Nakate, Vanuatu, Zambeziaadmin

By Megan Rowling | Just Transition Editor

Climate scientists and government officials are gathered in Switzerland this week to agree the final summary for policymakers in the latest blockbuster series of reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on global warming and how to keep it in check.

Coming before an important review of global progress on climate goals at the end of this year, it doesn’t take a PhD to work out that the key message will be along the lines of “must do better”.
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14Mar/23

Budget 2023: government needs to show it can jack up growth to regain economic credibility

March 14, 2023EconomyAcademic disciplines, Ant Clausen, Creative Commons, Deficit reduction in the United States, Economics, Economy, Inflation, Jeremy Hunt, Rishi Sunak, Steve Schifferes, Tax, Unemployment, United Kingdom, United States federal budget, Universal Creditadmin

Steve Schifferes, City, University of London

UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s spring budget is a tricky one in terms of timing. Having announced a set of steadying measures in the autumn statement after the Truss/Kwarteng debacle, this budget is likely to be the last but one before a 2024 general election. This makes it a little early for eye-catching tax cuts or business boosts.

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14Mar/23

IQAir World Air Quality Report 2022 Finds Only 5% of Countries Meet WHO PM2.5 Air Pollution Guideline

March 14, 2023EnvironmentAir pollution, Pollutionadmin

The 5th Annual World Air Quality Report reveals alarming details of the world’s most polluted countries, territories, and regions in 2022. For this year’s report, data from more than 30,000 air quality monitoring stations across 7,323 locations in 131 countries, territories, and regions was analyzed by IQAir’s air quality scientists. Read more

14Mar/23

Silicon Valley Bank: how interest rates helped trigger its collapse and what central bankers should do next

March 14, 2023FinanceBank, Banking, Central bank, Charles Read, Creative Commons, Economic bubbles, Economy, Financial crisis of 2007–2008, Financial services, Harold Macmillan, Harold Wilson, Interest rate, Monetary policy, Money, New York, Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, Stock market crashes, Systemic risk, The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, United Kingdom, United States, WASHINGTON MUTUALadmin

Charles Read, University of Cambridge

A former prime minister of Britain, Harold Wilson, is famous for remarking that a week is a long time in politics. But in the world of finance, it seems everything can change in just two days.

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13Mar/23

Pfizer Invests $43 Billion to Battle Cancer

March 13, 2023ReasearchAlbert Bourla, Antibody-drug conjugate, Antineoplastic drugs, Articles, ASTELLAS, Astellas Pharma, BOTHELL, brentuximab vedotin, Canada, Centerview Partners, Centerview Partners LLC, China, Chris Boshoff, David Caouette, David Epstein, Douglas, Genmab, Guggenheim Securities LLC, Health, Investment banks, Investor Call Details Pfizer Inc., Japan, Life sciences, Macau, Merck, New York, Pfizer, Pfizer Inc., Pharmaceutical industry, Sanofi S.A., SeaGen, Seagen Inc., Seattle, SULLIVAN & CROMWELL LLP, Switzerland, Taiwan, Takeda, United States, WACHTELL, LIPTON, ROSEN & KATZ, Washington, zai labadmin

Pfizer to acquire Seagen for $229 per Seagen share in cash, for a total enterprise value of approximately $43 billion
Proposed combination enhances Pfizer’s position as a leading company in Oncology
Seagen’s medicines, late-stage development programs and pioneering expertise in Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) strongly complement Pfizer’s Oncology portfolio
Seagen expected to contribute more than $10 billion in risk-adjusted revenues in 2030
Pfizer and Seagen to hold analyst and investor call at 8 a.m. EDT today

NEW YORK & BOTHELL, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and Seagen Inc. (Nasdaq: SGEN) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Pfizer will acquire Seagen, a global biotechnology company that discovers, develops and commercializes transformative cancer medicines, for $229 in cash per Seagen share for a total enterprise value of $43 billion. The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. Continue reading →

13Mar/23

Beko reveals consumers avoid wasteful, passing kitchen trends in favour of durable, quality designs

March 13, 2023LifestyleArticles, Beko, Culture, Humans, Japanese kitchen, Kitchen, Koç family, Modadmin

Forget flimsy mod-cons and passing social trends, a new study has revealed that timeless design and advanced technology are the most desired features in modern kitchens, according to Beko, the leading home appliance brand. Continue reading

13Mar/23

Uncovering the secret religious and spiritual lives of sex workers

March 13, 2023Human InterestAllah, Amy, Belgium, Benedikta Fones, Brussels, Creative Commons, Daisy Matthews, Gemma Ahearne, Human behavior, Human sexuality, Human trafficking, Humans, Islam Zahra, Italy, Jane Pilcher, Khan, London, Lopatin Lre, Melissa Gira Grant, Mia Khalifa, NORSE, Northern Ireland, Pagan, Prostitution, Romania, Sex industry, Sex work, Sex workers' rights, Sexual consent, SHUTTERSTOCK, So Zahra, Take Amy, Tanya, Thailand, Transgender sex worker, United Kingdom, United States, Vandoorne Maya, Veniceadmin

Daisy Matthews, Nottingham Trent University and Jane Pilcher, Nottingham Trent University

Tanya* is telling me just how important her Methodist Christianity is to her. We’re chatting over a video call, and I can see Tanya’s living room in the background. This also happens to be her workspace because Tanya, who is 50, is a full-time phone and cam sex worker. For Tanya, earning her living through sex work does not conflict with her religious beliefs at all. Tanya tells me that she had a client who talked to her about his enjoyment of wearing women’s clothing. He confided in her because they both shared the same religious identity.

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13Mar/23

HSBC will acquire the assets of SVB UK. Deposits will be protected

March 13, 2023FinanceBank, British brands, Companies, Economy, Finance, Financial services, HSBC, Investment banks, Jeremy Hunt, London, Silicon Valley Bank, SVB UK, THE BANK OF ENGLAND, United Kingdomadmin

Here’s the HM Treasury statement:

Silicon Valley Bank (UK) Ltd has today been sold to HSBC. HSBC is headquartered in London, is the largest bank in Europe and is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services institutions, serving 39 million customers globally. Customers of SVB UK will be able to access their deposits and banking services as normal from today.
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11Mar/23

New Research in JNCCN Highlights the Negative Impact of Continued Exclusion of Racial Groups from Research on Cancer Genomics

March 11, 2023ReasearchBranches of biology, Cancer, Clinical medicine, Genetic testing, Medical genetics, Medicine, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Prostate cancer, Prostate cancer screening, RTT, War on Canceradmin

New research in the March 2023 issue of JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network highlights how the lack of genomic research for people with African ancestry, particularly those from the Sub-Saharan region, is hampering efforts to reduce disparities for people with cancer. In a first-of-its-kind study, the researchers evaluated molecular genetic results for 113 Black South African men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer to find evidence for increased and potentially unique genetic testing recommendations. Continue reading

10Mar/23

Why does music bring back memories? What the science says

March 10, 2023ScienceAutobiographical memory, Biology, Childhood amnesia, Cognitive science, Creative Commons, Emotion, Emotion and memory, Involuntary memory, Kelly Jakubowski, Memory, Mind, Music and emotion, Recalladmin

Kelly Jakubowski, Durham University

You’re walking down a busy street on your way to work. You pass a busker playing a song you haven’t heard in years. Now suddenly, instead of noticing all the goings on in the city around you, you’re mentally reliving the first time you heard the song. Hearing that piece of music takes you right back to where you were, who you were with and the feelings associated with that memory.

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