A manufacturing slowdown is one of several factors that has led Italy to tell its European Union partners that the country is unlikely to meet its economic performance projections because of the coronavirus outbreak. It also has warned the union that members should be ready to offer aid if Italy’s economy is severely damaged...
Tag: Mar 03 2020
Post
GREECE: STOP THE HUMAN WAVES
Over the past two decades, millions of migrants have fled war torn nations destroyed by the United States and its allies – Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, etc., and poverty stricken countries of Africa, seeking refuge in Europe. Hundreds of thousands have made dangerous trips on makeshift boats from the coast of Turkey to cross the Aegean Sea to...
Post
INDIA: “BRUTAL AND UNCHECKED VIOLENCE”
The protests that began in December, which spread across India following the new citizenship law discriminating against Muslims, continues to escalate. Last week, over 40 demonstrators were killed and 200 wounded as Hindu mobs attacked Muslims who were continuing the nationwide protests against the citizenship law. In addition to police and security forces using drones...
Post
MAKING CLEANING FLUID FROM GARBAGE
by Bennett Davis Veles, a New York start-up, is making a household cleaner from garbage. The company collects food waste, feeds it into a biorefinery, and extracts the ingredients that make up its namesake cleaner: water; acetic acid (related to vinegar); lactic acid (good for killing germs and breaking things down); and alcohol. Veles then...
Post
PLASMA DESTROYS PFAS
by Bennett Davis Perfluoroalkyl substances, a family of more than 5,000 “forever” industrial chemicals, have widely contaminated U.S. water supplies (see Trends Journal, 28 January 2020). Some are known to cause cancer; little research has been done on the health effects of most of them. The only ways to get rid of PFAS have been...
Post
AI FINDS “AMAZING” NEW ANTIBIOTIC
by Bennett Davis Using a machine learning program, artificial intelligence software at MIT has designed a new antibiotic able to kill dozens of bacteria, including some that defeat all other known antibiotics. The developers called the find “amazing” and believe it ranks among the most important antibiotics ever discovered because of its range of effectiveness....
Post
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR GOING SOUTH
Australia’s dollar struck a ten-year low against U.S. currency last week, dropping another 0.8 percent in one day after new figures showed unemployment edging up. The Aussie is down 15 percent against the U.S. dollar in the past two years, now worth US$0.65 compared to US$0.78 in January 2018. Australia’s two economic bedrocks are commodity...
Post
SOUTH KOREA: SAMSUNG HOLDS ECONOMY’S FATE
Samsung, the manufacturer that delivers 12.5 percent of South Korea’s annual GDP and 45 percent of its exports, continues to lay off workers as the number of coronavirus cases passed 1,500 last week, growing thirtyfold in a matter of days. The company, which employs more than 180,000 nationwide, closed one plant after a worker tested...
Post
START-UPS STARVING FOR FUNDS, ASK FOR BAILOUTS
Budding Chinese businesses were running short of funding because of China’s economic slowdown that began last year. Now the coronavirus has shut down large swathes of Chinese commerce and canceled entrepreneurs’ face-to-face meetings with possible backers. Venture capitalists typically like to meet entrepreneurs personally to get a “feel” for them. Without that personal contact, wallets...
Post
CHINA’S ECONOMIC WOES RIPPLE WORLDWIDE
The International Monetary Fund cut its estimate for China’s growth rate this year to 5.6 percent, down from the 6 percent it had forecast in January. About a third of global economic growth is driven by China’s economy, up from just 3 percent in 2000. Also in 2000, China made up 1.2 percent of world...