Category: Finance

Los Angeles is reeling after fires of historic proportions raced through many communities in January 2025, destroying thousands of homes. The Conversation U.S. asked Vanessa Crossgrove Fry, an associate research professor and director of the Idaho Policy Institute at Boise State University, and an expert on sustainable management and nonprofit administration, to explain what role […]

The devastating wildfires in Los Angeles have made one threat very clear: Climate change is undermining the insurance systems American homeowners rely on to protect themselves from catastrophes. This breakdown is starting to become painfully clear as families and communities struggle to rebuild. But another threat remains less recognized: This collapse could pose a threat […]

As wildfires swept through neighborhoods on the outskirts of Los Angeles in January 2025, stories about residents there helping their neighbors and total strangers began trickling out on social media. Accounts of Hollywood stars clearing streets for emergency vehicles to get through and raising money for fire victims were widely circulated. But there were many […]

In 2024, artificial intelligence (AI) startups attracted a significant share of venture capital (VC) funding, securing one-third of all VC dollars globally. In North America, this figure surged to nearly 50%, highlighting the growing dominance of AI within the tech investment landscape. This surge in AI funding reflects both the excitement around transformative AI technologies […]

It’s been five years since the pandemic lockdowns of 2020 disrupted the traditional office workplace. For a while, it seemed COVID-19 killed the office. Companies are now returning to the office in ever greater numbers. As professors who have researched remote work and collaboration for decades, we have our counterarguments. But there are lessons to […]

In late 2019 and early 2020, a series of devastating wildfires, known as the “black summer” bushfire disaster, left Australia reeling: More than 20% of the country’s forests burned. As a scholar of the psychology of charitable giving, I have long been interested in the unique emotional response that disasters evoke – often generating an […]

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has announced the successful issuance of its largest-ever social bond, raising $2 billion through a three-year bond to support low-income communities in emerging markets. The bond, which saw an impressive $11 billion orderbook, is the largest US dollar-denominated social bond ever issued by […]

When Donald Trump returns to the White House, he’ll be accompanied by a coterie of China hawks, all vowing to use tariffs and export bans to stop Beijing from challenging the United States’ supremacy in technology. This isn’t entirely new; China has faced such trade pressure since Trump first became president in 2017, and it […]

In the remote Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, a rare fungus grows inside dead caterpillars. In traditional Chinese medicine, this parasitic fungus is prized for its purported medicinal effects. Known as Ophiocordyceps sinensis – colloquially, caterpillar fungus or “Himalayan gold” – it can fetch astronomical prices on the herbal medicine market: up to US$63,000 per pound. Ophiocordyceps sinensis […]

Republicans are feuding over how many people can obtain H-1B visas, permits that allow foreign professionals to legally work in the United States. Today an estimated 600,000 foreigners with H-1B visas have tech, academic, medical and other jobs. Two of President-elect Donald Trump’s most influential – yet informal – advisers, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, […]