The Federal Reserve’s rate debate and Ukraine tensions could jolt markets in the week ahead
Stocks are likely to be volatile in the week ahead as investors watch tensions between Russia and Ukraine and debate how quickly the Fed can raise rates.
Microsoft ends support for older Visual Studio versions
Microsoft has posted a timeline for ending support of older versions of its signature Visual Studio IDE. The company encourages users to move to newer versions, particularly newly released Visual Studio 2022.Microsoft describes 64-bit Visual Studio …
Ukraine tensions, inflation push chip stocks even lower
Chipmakers had been boosted by increased demand during the pandemic and have generally reported strong earnings and outlooks in the past month.
‘Yes, marry for money’: A Harvard-trained economist shares the surprising financial benefits of marriage
Harvard-trained economist Laurence Kotlikoff shares the money benefits of marrying your long-term partner — and how to make sure you don’t fall victim to an expensive divorce settlement.
White House warns that Russia could invade Ukraine within days, urges Americans to leave
Russia could potentially invade Ukraine “any day now,” said national security advisor Jake Sullivan.
Pfizer delays its FDA application to expand its Covid vaccine to kids under 5 until April
Pfizer and BioNTech said they needed more data “because rates of infection and illness remain high in children of this age” due to the omicron variant.
Judge grants injunction to end Canadian bridge blockade, remove protesters
The blockade, now in its fifth day, has brought travel over the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, to a halt.
UAE’s DP World commits $1 million to Prince William foundation’s Earthshot Prize finalists
“This is the decisive decade,” Prince William said at the Dubai Expo site during an event celebrating some of the contest’s finalists.
Elon Musk, defending the value of space travel, presents SpaceX’s Starship as the ‘holy grail’
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Thursday gave his pitch for the company’s Starship rocket, saying it represents the “holy grail” of space travel.
Biden meets with leaders of NATO, US allies to discuss Russia’s military threat to Ukraine
Biden’s meeting with the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and other allies was not included in his official schedule.
This bizarre looking helmet can create better brain scans
Researchers have developed a dome-shaped device, which fits over a person’s head and can be worn during a brain scan, that boosts MRI performance, creating crisper images that can be captured at twice the normal speed. Eventually, the magnetic metamate…
Writing is not present in all ‘complex’ societies, but it can signal inequality
For a long time, anthropologists believed that a written language was a hallmark of a society being complex or ‘advanced.’ A new study on precolonial Mesoamerican societies shows that you can have a society with a big population and a complex governmen…
Solar and wind power are key to decarbonizing Switzerland
How can we reduce the carbon footprint of electricity consumption in Switzerland? The country relies on electricity imports from fossil fuel power plants, which are major emitters of greenhouse gases.
Electron conspiracy in a Japanese lattice pattern: Kagome metals baffle science
Toward a new kind of superconductivity: In the past four years scientists have discovered metals whose crystal structure mimics that of a traditional Japanese woven bamboo pattern: kagome metals. The international research activity in this new directio…
Machine learning outperforms clinical experts in classifying hip fractures
A new machine learning process designed to identify and classify hip fractures has been shown to outperform human clinicians. Two convolutional neural networks (CNNs) were able to identify and classify hip fractures from X-rays with a 19% greater degre…
Distant galaxies and the true nature of dark matter
In conflict with the current prevailing theory used to describe the universe, a new study suggests the existence of a direct interaction between the elementary particles that make up the dark matter halo and those that make up ordinary matter.
Graphene spintronics: 1D contacts improve mobility in nano-scale devices
Researchers may have cleared a significant hurdle on the path to quantum computing, demonstrating step-change improvements in the spin transport characteristics of nanoscale graphene-based electronic devices.
Reusable plastic bottles release hundreds of chemicals
Researchers have found several hundred different chemical substances in tap water stored in reusable plastic bottles. Several of these substances are potentially harmful to human health. There is a need for better regulation and manufacturing standards…
Strong and elastic, yet degradable: protein-based bioplastics
More than eight million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year — a serious danger for the environment and health. Biodegradable bioplastics could provide an alternative. A research team has now introduced a new method for the production of pr…
2021: 21% of retailers cut ties with suppliers
Retailers within the UK have terminated contracts worth 8.3 billion euros with suppliers that didn’t meet ethical and sustainable standards in 2021. The demand for ethical and sustainable products from customers has led to a shift in how retailers shape their supply chain. According to a research conducted by Censuswide…
The Fed is still likely to take a measured approach to rate hikes despite calls for bigger action
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic told CNBC on Thursday after the inflation report, “My views have not changed.”
Sustainable aviation fuel costs more but consumers will be willing to pay, IATA chief says
Looking ahead, Willie Walsh said airlines had ordered 14 billion liters of SAF.
China’s biggest chipmaker SMIC posts record revenue despite U.S. sanctions
SMIC, China’s largest chipmaker, is seen as a key player in Beijing’s ambitions to become more self-sufficient in the semiconductor industry.
Novel wearable armband helps users of prosthetic hands to ‘get a grip’
A new study could be a game changer for users of prosthetic hands who have long awaited advances in dexterity. Researchers examined if people could precisely control the grip forces applied to two different objects grasped simultaneously with a dextero…
Smartphone app can vibrate a single drop of blood to determine how well it clots
Researchers have developed a new blood-clotting test that uses only a single drop of blood and a smartphone vibration motor and camera.
New plant-derived composite is tough as bone and hard as aluminum
A new woody composite is tough as bone and hard as aluminum, and might pave way for naturally derived plastics.
Chemical history of the Milky Way revealed by new catalog of tens of millions of stars
Researchers published a new sample catalog of more than 24 million stars that can be used to decipher the chemical history of elements in the Milky Way galaxy.
Who’s watching? Nearly a third of TV ads play to empty rooms
Paying thousands of dollars to advertise on television is a huge proposition — never more so than for the Super Bowl, for which 30-second TV spots this year will cost advertisers as much as $6.5 million. Contrary to Super Bowl advertisements, which ar…
Planetary bodies observed for first time in ‘habitable zone’ of dead star
A ring of planetary debris studded with moon-sized structures has been observed orbiting close to a white dwarf star, hinting at a nearby planet in the ‘habitable zone’ where water and life could exist, according to a new study. White dwarfs are glowin…
France defends its ‘big nuclear adventure,’ says it is influenced by geopolitics
The move controversially places atomic power at the center of France’s bid to achieve carbon neutrality by the middle of the century.