Categories
Finance

Developing countries’ debts mount as pandemic and strong dollar

Developing countries’ stockpile of debt hit a fresh record high last year, the Institute of International Finance said on Wednesday, adding to concerns of a wave of sovereign defaults this year. The combined government, household, corporate and financial sector debts of 30 large low and middle-income countries rose to $98tn at the end of December, […]

Categories
UK

Rise in swinging parties blamed on pandemic

It was the 1970s cliché of pampas grass, dinner parties and keys-in-a-fruit bowl but now suburban ‘swinging‘ is returning according to a new study … which psychotherapists attribute to the post-pandemic gloom. Popular among the baby boomer suburban elite of the 1970s, the practice of the one-night-only switching partners before the digital age was also […]

Categories
Business

The Covid pandemic drives Pfizer’s 2022 revenue to a record $100

Empty vials of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) children’s vaccines are pictured at Skippack Pharmacy in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, U.S., May 19, 2022.  Hannah Beier | Reuters The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic propelled pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s earnings to a record $100 billion last year, almost $57 billion of which was driven by its vaccine and antiviral pill Paxlovid, […]

Categories
Business

WHO says Covid remains a global emergency but pandemic could near

Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends an ACANU briefing on global health issues, including COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine in Geneva, Switzerland, December 14, 2022.  Denis Balibouse | Reuters The World Health Organization on Monday said Covid-19 remains an global health emergency as the world enters the fourth […]

Categories
Technology

Alphabet cuts 12,000 jobs after pandemic hiring spree, refocuses

Jan 20 (Reuters) – Google’s parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) is cutting about 12,000 jobs as it faces “a different economic reality”, it said in a staff memo, doubling down on artificial intelligence (AI) and axing staff who support experimental projects. The job cuts affect 6% of its workforce, and follows thousands of layoffs at tech […]

Categories
Pets

Analysis | The Pet Pandemic Boom Is Well and Truly Over

Comment on this story Comment As investors look for signs of cooling inflation, there is one discretionary purchase that is firmly in deflation: pets. Prices of our furry friends have slumped over the past year as demand has fallen with people returning to offices and rising costs pinching wallets. The pandemic pet boom is well and truly over. […]

Categories
Pets

Have goals for the New Year? Here are some for your pets at home

BUSINESS SCHOOL. THAT’S PRETTY COOL. WELL, THE 2023 NEW YEAR IS OFFICIALLY UNDERWAY, WHICH MEANS THAT MANY OF US ARE OFFICIALLY BEGINNING TO TAKE SOME OF OUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS LESSONS. AND WHILE YOU’LL WANT TO KEEP YOUR OWN RESOLUTIONS, TRY THAT DOGGY DAY. CENTER IS NOW HELPING PET OWNERS KEEP THEIR RESOLUTIONS TO THEIR […]

Categories
Science

Environmental racism worsens pandemic outcomes

As a new COVID-19 variant begins to take hold, one thing has remained the same for the past near-three years of the pandemic. Throughout its ebbs and flows, I’ve witnessed how the pandemic has raced through Latino communities — our colleagues, families and friends. And the data agrees with this observation: COVID-19 sickens more Latinos […]

Categories
Technology

New machine learning tool can shed light on chronic COVID

Long COVID has emerged as a pandemic within the pandemic. As scientists work to untangle the many remaining unanswered questions about how the initial infection impacts the body, they must now also investigate why some people develop debilitating, chronic symptoms that last months to years longer. A new machine learning tool is here to help. […]

Categories
World

Pandemic fuels rise in human trafficking and forced marriage

International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that 50 million people, or one out of every 150 people alive, is trapped in forced labour or a forced marriage. That is up almost 10 million on its numbers from five years ago. Catherine Turner, of the anti-slavery charity, said the fact things are getting worse is “disappointing and […]