Reports of forced labor camps – not unlike those widely used by the Nazi regime throughout the Second World War – in the Xinjiang region of China have become increasingly widespread in recent years. Images from these detention camps and reports coming out of the region indicate that the Chinese government has detained approximately one-million […]

On September 23, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced an executive order effectively banning the sale of new fossil-fuel powered passenger vehicles in 2035 and medium and heavy-duty trucks in 2045. Gas-powered vehicles sold before these years can still operate and be sold in the used-car market. The order would make California the first state […]

COVID-19 has drastically changed how people travel, shattering past travel trends and conceptions and leaving the travel industry scrambling to adjust. Yet, amidst the global shutdowns and travel restrictions, Airbnb has made a surprising comeback and announced its plans to go public last month. Just a few months ago, however, things seemed bleak. In mid-March, […]

The Trump administration is attempting to curtail the U.S. use of Chinese communication apps, invoking national security concerns—namely, data sharing with the Chinese government. In recent weeks, two separate judges blocked the efforts targeted at TikTok and WeChat. Neither judge questioned the government’s substantial national security concerns in pursuing the bans. Both, however, were unconvinced […]

In October 2019, former Facebook executive, and current CEO of Social Capital, Chamath Palihapitiya announced that his Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) was acquiring Virgin Galactic. The deal –  a “reverse merger” – involved Palihapitiya’s publicly traded corporate entity acquiring Virgin Galactic in order to take it public. On the floor of the New York […]

On September 13, 2020, Nvidia announced its intention to purchase Arm Holdings from Japan’s SoftBank for up to $40 billion. It will be the largest purchase in the global semiconductor industry if the deal goes through. The purchase will potentially bring Nvidia a competitive advantage over a technology that powers everything from mobile devices to […]

While “it’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future,” hindsight from the past financial crises can enlighten the path ahead. The International Monetary Fund recently labeled the current “Great Lockdown” the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of 1930, the reason being the cumulative output loss to global GDP over 2020/2021 of around […]

The coronavirus has hit our communities and our healthcare systems hard, and it has served staggering blows to the global economy. As of Tuesday, the total number of unemployment claims in the U.S. surpassed 20 million in just four weeks, an occurrence which the New York Times and others are saying has not happened since […]

Once known for its unorthodox style and on-the-spot deal making, Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. is significantly changing its outlook to stop the plunging of its stock price and shore up its debt-laden balance sheet. After a very damaging 2019, which saw Softbank-backed WeWork lose 80% of its valuation and Uber’s stock falling by 37%, Softbank’s […]

With the world’s attention intently focused on economic indicators in the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, new research highlights the key role that small online businesses play in the economic growth of local communities. In collaboration with GoDaddy, a new study authored by researchers from the University of Iowa and Arizona State analyzed measures of […]