Category: Finance

Between January and mid-October 2025, calls to local 211 helplines from people seeking food pantries in their community held steady at nearly 1,000 calls per day. But as the government shutdown entered its fourth week in late October, states began to warn residents that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, sometimes known as food stamps, would […]

Major airports across the United States were subject to a 4% reduction in flights on Nov. 7, 2025, as the government shutdown began to affect travelers. The move by the Federal Aviation Administration is intended to ease pressure on air traffic controllers, many of whom have been working for weeks without pay after the government […]

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has helped low-income Americans buy groceries for decades with few disruptions. But on Nov. 1, 2025, the federal government halted the flow of funds to states to distribute as SNAP benefits. The Trump administration blames this unprecedented disruption on the federal government shutdown, which began a month earlier. Following multiple […]

In the aftermath of the floods in 2022, Pakistan’s financial sector was in crisis. But for different types of financial institutions, this crisis didn’t look the same. For microfinance banks, this was a crisis of capital adequacy; as non-performing loans (NPLs) in flood-impacted areas increased, capital was eroded, and capital adequacy fell from a regulatory […]

American households have become dependent on Amazon. The numbers say it all: In 2024, 83% of U.S. households received deliveries from Amazon, representing over 1 million packages delivered each day and 9 billion individual items delivered same-day or next-day every year. In remarkably short order, the company has transformed from an online bookseller into a […]

Mumbai, India – November 6, 2025 — Leading private equity firm ChrysCapital has announced the close of its 10th flagship fund, ChrysCapital X, at $2.2 billion, making it the largest private equity vehicle ever raised by an India-based general partner (GP). The milestone underscores the growing global confidence in India’s investment landscape and ChrysCapital’s enduring […]

When it comes to inquiring about – ahem – certain products, shoppers prefer the inhuman touch. That is what we found in a study of consumer habits when it comes to products that traditionally have come with a degree of embarrassment – think acne cream, diarrhea medication, adult sex toys or personal lubricant. While brands […]

Every few years since 1953, the Chinese government has unveiled a new master strategy for its economy: the all-important five-year plan. For the most part, these blueprints have been geared at spurring growth and unity as the nation transformed from a rural, agrarian economy to an urbanized, developed powerhouse. The task that faced China’s leaders […]

“Sex sells” has been a mantra in marketing for decades. As researchers who study consumer behavior, we’ve seen plenty of evidence to support it: Attractive models and spokespeople have been shown to reliably grab attention, boost clicks and make products seem more desirable. But our new research suggests that in a digital world full of […]

When banks issue their defrauded customers refunds and successfully identify the perpetrators, fraud victims are 60% more likely to stick with their bank than customers that didn’t experience any fraud. But if customers get their stolen money back but never learn who the perpetrators are, they are 40% more likely to take their accounts elsewhere […]